Author: mis2020

It is a good idea to start thinking about your workplace festive decorations in plenty of time before Christmas. Here at Benholm we can provide the highest quality real and artificial Christmas trees that will light up your office – but what are the benefits of investing in one in the first place?

Boost Morale

There are dozens of studies out there demonstrating that happy employees are productive employees – and what better way to raise a smile this Christmas than with a beautifully decorated tree?

People respond to environments that incorporate life and colour, with bright and cooler colours producing differing effects – for example red and orange sparking creativity while blues and greens promote calm.

Show Employees You Care

Investing in a quality tree that has a positive effect on the morale of your team also shows that you care about the wellbeing of your team – which in itself with boost morale. Employees who feel valued are more likely to work harder for their employer – with the opposite also being true.

Give a Great Festive First Impression

In business as in life, first impressions count for a lot, and a working environment that hasn’t been decorated to suit the festive feeling may say a lot about you as an employer and a company.

For potential customers or clients that are coming to your premises they want to see that they are getting involved with the right sort of company. By decorating your premises in the right way you can put forward your best image and avoid people judging you before even speaking to you.

To find out more about the Christmas trees we supply here at Benholm get in touch with the team on 01324 861 300.

As the world of work becomes increasingly defined by technology, businesses have recognised the need for increased collaboration and socialisation between workers to improve productivity and creativity.

Biophilic Design is becoming more widely recognised and as a result commercial office spaces are seeing office plants become an integral part of their design. Designers try to provide workers with relaxing and pleasant surroundings, inspire a fresh enthusiasm into the culture and give the opportunity to take a break.

Below are 5 of the worlds best office designs with plant displays. In all, the use of interior plants in virtually any space results in an exceptional experience for the users. For more inspiration, visit our Gallery.

World Ventures – Sydney.

Recreating the relaxed Australian coastal vibe was the aim of Evoke Projects in this office design. Light timber grains and coastal colours were implemented alongside subtle yet effective planting – creatively integrated into the overall design –  to create a clean ‘wanderlust’ feeling. A real emphasis on branding was implemented throughout the office design with the slogan ‘you should be here’ featuring across multiple applications. Follow this link to find out more: https://officesnapshots.com/2017/03/15/world-ventures-offices-sydney/.

King Offices – Stockholm.

Adolfsson and Partners have created this strikingly minimalistic design for development studio King. The offices also feature an artificial ‘Forest’ which uses live plants to create a fresh appearance. The designers said: “the same inspiring and calming effect that you get from spending time in natural surroundings we decided we wanted to apply to this new King office”. Interested? Click here.

Etsy Offices – New York City.

Etsy’s new Brooklyn Headquarters is designed to showcase their culture of treating “Code as Craft.” Described as “blurring the lines between workplace and habitat”, this colourful and spacious office makes use of indoor plant displays to bring employees closer to nature. Find out more details at: https://officesnapshots.com/2017/01/23/etsy-offices-new-york-city/.

Centro Offices – Chicago.

The impression created by this collaboration area green wall logo is different for everyone – but one thing is the same. The creative use of plants to display the company name in a prominent position enhances the aesthetic appearance considerably. In addition, the creation of “parks” helps to break up the large floor plan, developing an identity for different departments and providing alternative work spaces. Find more information here.

Ampersand – Soho, London.

Certainly a stunning feature in the centre of the building, the four-storey Living Staircase gets its name from the plants that grow on top of the balustrades. The plants add colour and a low-tech feel to the building, and the employees are encouraged to look after them. Every element of the staircase is designed to relate to the people using it, providing a dynamic centrepiece for the Ampersand scheme.

Everlane Shoe Park – New York.

Not strictly an office, but still an exceptionally creative design – a plant-filled temporary retail space for online store Everlane.

The tropical plants contrast with the concrete architecture of the existing building, and the result is an environment that is tranquil yet exceptional. Visit Everlane’s website for a look at this masterpiece of creativity: https://www.everlane.com/shoe-park.

Go on and get some inspiration from 5 of the world’s best office designs with plant displays, where exceptional environments make all the difference.  Please feel free to comment below to share any other examples of superb office designs with office plant displays.

For help on your own project, contact us now or call Freephone
01324 861300

Here at Benholm we are passionate about the benefits of office plants for your business, but without investing in regular office plant maintenance you won’t continue to enjoy these benefits for long.

The quality and effectiveness of that maintenance will depend on which company you choose, however the difference in the cost per planter of poor-quality maintenance versus good quality maintenance is virtually nothing – it could be only pence. Most companies charge very similarly for the service, but the result (or rather the ongoing result) can often be poles apart. It is often related to how the supplier trains, manages, and motivates their maintenance team.

High quality maintenance produces plants which look attractive, vibrant, healthy, and thriving and this has been proved to have a positive effect on staff and visitors. Conversely, poor maintenance will result in unhealthy plants that will provide a negative effect which is damaging to staff morale, motivation, and productivity.

Is the provider of your existing office plant maintenance up to scratch? Assess the quality of your service with this 10-point checklist. Ask yourself these ten questions to find out:

1. Does the plant look as good as when it was first installed?
2. If it has been replaced, is the replacement of a similar style and size?
3. Is it pruned regularly, or has it been allowed to grow straggly?
4. Does it have an attractive, balanced shape?
5. Is the plant growing out of the centre of the container?
6. Does it have a healthy appearance with lush green leaves?
7. Are there any brown or obviously cut leaf ends?
8. Are the leaves dusty?
9. Is the container clean, undamaged and of a suitable style and colour for the location?
10. Is the compost or top-dressing level with the top lip of the container?

If you have any questions or concerns about the quality of your office plant maintenance and would like to see how much better your plants could look, please contact us for a free assessment and no-obligation quotation.

When the President of America withdrew the United States of America from the Paris agreement of over 190 countries working together to combat climate change, the President of France sought to awaken a fresh rallying for this cause.

The hashtag #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain is based on a twist on the President of America’s election campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” to the President of France’s “Make Our Planet Great Again”. See how this all unfolded in the news.

The new website www.makeourplanetgreatagain.fr encourages global responsibility towards our planet and encourages innovation into finding new and better ways to protect the environment.

Taking care of the environment is, and always has been, at the heart of the Benholm Group and we are pleased to share with you the following 5 ways to #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain:

The Benefits Of Plants

Whilst about 70% of the surface area of the earth is covered with water, the remaing 30% has a significant proportion covered with green leafy flora demonstrating how critical plants are to our planets ecosystem.

We are passionate about plants and the benefits they bring to every type of organisation. Plants have been proved to help purify the air we breathe, remove harmful toxins from the air, produce oxygen whilst removing carbon dioxide and increase humidity. We know, through the science of Biophilic Design, that the presence of nature (such as office plants) has a positive impact on the wellbeing of humanity helping us to become healthier, happier, more effective and more productive.

Contact us for a free no-obligation quotation

Our natural peatlands act as important stores of carbon which help tackle damage to the environment from carbon emissions.  Peat soils, particularly in Scotland, can absorb around 25 times as much carbon as all other plant life in the UK. Read more here…

The Enviroculture planting system is a peat-free and soil-free system that is clean, pure and sustainable and demonstrates Environmental Excellence. Additionally, the risk of soil-borne pests and bacteria is eliminated making it ideal for eating areas and other clean, hygienic spaces. 

This sustainable range of designer plant containers are manufactured from recycled office equipment. They are available in a range of colours and styles and can be branded with #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain and/or your organisation’s logo or strapline.

ISO 14001 Accreditation

The use of the peat-free Enviroculture planting system can help organisation demonstrate environmental excellence and assist in achieving ISO 14001 accrediation.

Our own ISO 14001 accreditation takes into account our commitment to the use of the Enviroculture planting system as well as our purpose-built, eco-friendly premises. 

Green Tourism

We are proud of the fact that the Benholm Group has passed the Green Tourism supplier assessment and we are now officially listed in the Green Directory of Eco-Friendly Products.

Enviroculture Plant Displays are not just to make your premises look great but they are also good for the environment and this has been recognised by Green Tourism.

Why not take another step today to help Make Our Planet Great Again by contacting us to arrange a free design consultation or request a free no-obligation quotation. 

Back in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s office plants consisted of a limited range of standard plant species in regular styles – on canes or stems or in a bush shape – the primary consideration being the ease by with they could be maintained in an office environment.

Things have moved on. Office plants are now considered by many companies to be just as important as work of art adorning their offices as their function in making the work environment healthier and more comfortable.  Biophilic Design is an important part of this whole movement.

Plant growers around the world are adapting to this and are producing more “weird and wonderful” plants every day. Their ingenuity and innovation are outstanding! 

For example, these incredible pieces of rainforest are from an area that was hit by devastating hurricanes a few years ago.

Most of the trees were blown over and damaged yet in the fertile ground they continued to grow and what we have now is some unique living art sculptures.

In the right location, these could make stunning natural living art features!

A sneak peek into some of the more unusual trees and plants that our growers have in stock are shown below just to provide a little taster of what can be achieved. These are all unique pieces and subject to availability.

Contact us to discuss your requirements and get some ideas for your location or to see what might be available now.

Why do we need office plants?

Plants in an office environment have been proved to help in many ways. Here are a few examples:

• Improve the air quality by cleaning toxins from the air and increasing humidity
• Improve staff satisfaction, morale, health and wellbeing
• Improve productivity, efficiency and creativity
• Reduce stress and absenteeism

Find out more about the benefits of plants on our website here.

Why are plants so important in open plan offices?

There appears to be an increasing dissatisfaction with open plan offices. This is partly to do with the fact that the time workers are spending on collaborative tasks is decreasing while time on quiet, concentrated work is increasing.  Some of the main issues that are being raised as reported by Oxford Economics here are:

• Doesn’t allow for different types of work
• Acoustic issues making it difficult to concentrate
• Poor air quality and variations in temperature
• Lack of personal space and privacy
• One-size-fits-all just doesn’t suit everyone!

Planting can help transform your open plan collaborative spaces into beautiful areas where quiet focus work can also be done effectively.

Which are the best office plants for open plan areas?

Visibility is key. In a large open plan area the greenery should be able to be seen across the space so it either needs to be tall or elevated by placing the plants on cabinets or pedestals. Having the greenery at eye-height also helps the acoustics in the space.  Green walls are another very effective way of creating a superb open-plan office environment. See this video about Nordik Moss walls.

Tall planters are generally more bulky as thy are usually older, more mature plants to have grown to the required height. This can sometimes be overcome by using tall narrow containers to give a smaller footprint – Dracaena (varieties) / Ficus (varieties) / Pachira Aquatica / Kentia Palm

Pedestal planters take up a similar amount of floor space but have a completely different look. Pedestals are available in lots of styles, designs and heights – Mixed foliage and/or exotic colour plants / Ripsalis / Asplenium Nidus / Hedera / Zamioculcas Zamiifolia

Cabinet-top displays are ideal for ensuring that cabinet tops do not become dumping grounds for files etc and help keep a nice crisp clean look throughout the space – Sansevieria / Cordyline Glauca / Aglaonema / Liriope Grasses

Would you like a FREE workplace assessment?

Biophilic design is more than just bringing the outside in.

In an article on Biophilic design, Oliver Health is quoted saying;

“Biophilic design is more than just bringing the outside in, it’s about making and strengthening a connection with many aspects of nature. It’s about natural light, views on nature, plants, natural materials, textures and patterns.”

However, “bringing the outside in” is a great place to start! Using this principle to improve your interior environment, whether it is your commercial office space, hotel, restaurant or home, the benefits can be very far-reaching.

You may not be able to change your building structually to bring more daylight in and you may not have any nice views but there are some things that you can do. Here are a few design secrets that we’d like to share with you:

#1 – Consider the local habitat

Don’t use some far-away idillic location as your inspiration (unless you’re a travel agent!). Study the local habitat and use this as a guide for what you create and this will result in a space where you, your staff and your visitors feel much more comfortable. In this project the client wanted specific features of the local Scottish habitat replicated inside and this was not easy to do with living plants!

#2 – Use natural materials

There are many types of materials and finishes readily available. Use them for covering walls, floors and even ceilings. Natural colours, greens and browns will always work well. Consider texture too. Organic, nature inspired shapes can help.

Using natural branches, tree trunks, logs, pine cones and anything like this can be very effective and can be used to compliment any decor style from the most modern to the most traditional. 

#3 – Trees, plants and greenery

Including greenery in your interior space is one of the easiest and best ways to create an outside inside theme. 

Green walls are a current interior design trend and are very effective in bringing the outside in because they are so visible. Green walls don’t require any floor space and can really help the acoustics in an interior space. Check out this latest video on our Nordik Moss walls.

Plants have many benefits when it comes to bringing the outside in. Not only do plants create a nice, naturally soft visual effect but they also help to provide an ambience that you can experience. Live plants help clean toxins from the air and produce oxygen and humidity helping to ensure your interior environment is healthy, comfortable and relaxing.

The maintenance of live interior plants needs careful planning because the effectiveness of your new interior design theme is reliant on those plants being lush, healthy and full of life. A full maintenance service can be easily arranged leaving you free to enjoy your new space.

Live plants are best but artificial plants are very realistic and can create a good visual effect. They are ideal for areas where it is not practical to have live plants.

The success of your pavement cafe or street dining space is all about the number of seats per square foot …isn’t it?

No. It’s not. Definitely not.

Maximising your space is critical, especially on pavements which are often very limited, but it is not the most important factor.

A good street dining experience for your customers is one of the most important factors to maximising the effectiveness of your space. Get this right and you’ll find your seats will always be fully booked and your profitability will increase.

Plants can help create the right atmosphere for a perfect experience.

• Shelter from the wind
• Privacy from pedestrians
• Acoustic protection from traffic noise

Plants look nice too! They can help attract new customers and help improve the attractiveness of your front-of-house image.

Plants are sometimes ruled out on the basis of trying to maximise the space for seating, but this is an easy trap to fall into. Making space for plants (and they don’t need much!!) can help maximise your street dining space much more effectively because the plants lift the level of the whole experience for your customers.

Plants can be used in attractive cafe barrier systems, and this can give you extra branding opportunities either on banners between the planters or on the planters themselves.

If you’d like a free assessment of your street dining space and some ideas for how plants could help you maximise the space, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly design team today.