Our Award Winners: The 2025 International Plantscape Awards

Each January, growers, interiorscapers, and other key members of the horticultural design community from across the globe make the journey to Fort Lauderdale to attend the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association’s Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE). TPIE has become one of the largest industry tradeshows over the years, creating an opportunity for members of the horticultural industry to connect and share their unique insights with fellow community members. This year, over 200 exhibitors attended the event including:

• Growers
• Interiorscapers
• Commercial Holiday Decorators
• Container Manufacturers
• Technological Leaders
• 3^rd Party Corporate Support teams
• And a variety of other vendors and suppliers working in the industry

The TPIE tradeshow consists of two main sections— the exhibitors' floor and the education workshops. On the floor, attendees connect with vendors and suppliers to learn more about their individual offerings and how they can help each other grow their businesses. In the education workshops, key industry members and leaders share their insights with attendees. One of our own leaders, Heather Ruiz (our Vice President of Human Resources), spoke at this year’s trade show about how to hire a winning team.

Our executive and design teams attend the show annually, making the most of this opportunity to grow our relationships with new and existing vendors, gain insight into emerging trends within the industry, and share our team’s insights with the Interiorscaping community. The educational opportunities provided by TPIE are an invaluable resource for our team as we continue to optimize and develop our services to achieve our mission of creating environments where PEOPLE THRIVE.

1. Key Takeaways from the 2025 Tradeshow

With so many vendors and industry leaders in attendance at TPIE, keeping track of the key insights from the exhibitors' floor and educational workshops can be overwhelming. Dozens of products and companies will be making a splash in the new year. But don’t worry, we’ve got everything you need to get caught up on the big moments from this year’s trade show. Here are some of the trends and companies to watch in 2025:

Vulkaponic USA: At this year's showcase, a brand-new growing substrate called Vulkaponic made its debut on the exhibitors' floor. Vulkaponic is tailor-made for the interior landscaping industry, balancing both aesthetic appeal and functional capabilities to create an innovative alternative to traditional potting soil. This growing substrate provides optimal aeration for plants' roots, reducing the risk of illnesses like root rot, and significantly lengthens watering cycles by allowing plants to absorb water as they need it, ultimately cutting costs for interior landscapers. And, because Vulkaponic is a mineral substrate rather than potting soil, it’s mess-free and eliminates the need for decorative coverings to balance a design’s visual appeal.

Seasonscapes: Commercial holiday decorating can be a hassle, but Seasonscapes is here to make the process easier for you. Seasonscapes offers a variety of unique design themes and trendy holiday décor to help businesses across the country create stunning holiday landscapes for themselves and their clients. They’ve made the procurement process simple for businesses of all sizes with their four-step ordering process. All you have to do is choose your design theme, add any desired customization, and select the décor elements you need for your job. Then, once your order is finalized, your décor will ship within 5 days and all you’ll have to do is deliver your décor to the job site.

Resimercial Designs: Since the pandemic, the design world has changed significantly. The minimalistic aesthetic and cool millennial greys of the early 2020’s are gone. Instead, managers across the board are looking for designs that blend the comfort of residential spaces with the functionality of commercial spaces. Landscape designs featuring the warm colors and textured pottery at the heart of resimercial design will be extremely popular in the coming year. Focal point plants, like Ficus or Palm trees, will also be popular choices for interior landscapes. As you consider whether or not to redesign your space in the new year, the rise of resimercial design is something you can’t overlook.

2.The International Plantscape Awards:

For the fourth year in a row, TPIE has also hosted the International Plantscape Awards, an annual awards ceremony for designers and horticultural technicians in the interior landscaping industry. Awards are given in a variety of designations, including:

• Design
• Installation
• Holiday
• Silk/Replica
• Living Walls
• Moss Walls
• Rooftop Gardens
• Exterior Facades
• Atriums
• Conservatories
• Hotels/Resorts
• And Horticultural Services

Submissions are accepted for projects completed within two years of the cut-off date.

Rather than being judged against each other, all entries are judged on their individual quality, receiving a designation of either Silver, Gold, or Platinum based on points awarded by the judges. Some designs may even receive the Diamond or Emerald designations that are awarded to the best designs of the year.

At this year's International Plantscape Awards, our team brought home a grand total of 7 awards, including one of the first-ever Incredible Technician Recognition awards.

3. Meet Our Award Winners:

Silver Award for Design: Springdale Green

Austin, TX

By Anai Vargas

The offices at Springdale Green are more than just your standard offices— they’re a biophilic paradise featuring 30 acres of stunning exterior landscaping and over 20 acres of lush Interiorscaping. Both buildings are filled to the brim with plants and, although the project is ongoing, the owners of the property are thrilled with the results. With this design’s mixed media containers and a jaw-dropping array of local plants, Springdale Green is well on its way to becoming an East Austin Oasis.

Silver Award for Design: 300 Main

San Antonio, TX

By Linda Rael

In Texas, bigger is better. That’s why this luxury high-rise decided to go all out in the design of their property’s common areas. Thanks to the building’s floor-to-ceiling windows, each apartment and common space in this high-rise is filled with natural light, making it the perfect environment for live plants. In the common areas of this residential site, you’ll find a variety of lush green plants, including Fiddle Leaf Figs and Birds of Paradise, that help residents feel inspired, connected, and engaged for true luxury living.

Gold Award for Replica: Cal West Legacy

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

By Nora Jones

Limited space doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of biophilic design elements. After the previous tenants of this property moved out, the current tenants were left with a large, empty platform in the middle of their lobby. The elevated circle had a plywood bottom and a depth of only 6 inches, making it unable to support live plants. However, there was plenty of space for a replica design. Featuring three larger-than-life faux trees, this replica design transformed the centerpiece of Cal West’s lobby from an empty platform to an indoor park.

Gold Award For Moss Walls: Bhatia Residence

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

By Nora Jones

Bathrooms are meant to be a place of relaxation. When this residential client reached out to our team, they were ready to take this belief to the next level. The owners of this residence wanted to turn their master bathroom into a zen forest, and what better way to do this than with a moss wall? Better yet, multiple free-flowing moss walls. Spanning two full walls, the plant-filled, mixed-moss design of this moss art makes the walls of this bathroom look as though they were taken directly from nature and brought inside the home.

Gold Award for Freestanding Containers: Northwest Center

San Antonio, TX

By Courtney Fisher

Set into a stunning building with floor-to-ceiling windows spanning several stories, the atrium in Northwest Center’s lobby is a lush garden that’s home to warm, rich colors and natural earthy textures that transform this atrium into a biophilic escape from traditional office life. This atrium is home to leafy tropical plants and a refreshing rotation of seasonal color, subbed out frequently to keep the atrium’s design new and engaging, which effortlessly connects tenants with the nature around them.

Platinum Award for Hotel Pool Design: Hiatus Hotel

Clearwater, FL

By Casey Nelson

Hidden away from the bustling city of Clearwater, Hilton’s Hiatus Hotel is the perfect retreat for travelers looking to enjoy a tranquil beach vacation. The hotel offers a unique, Floridian biophilic experience with the help of waterfront views of Clearwater Beach and a wide array of lush tropical foliage, featuring several plant species native to Florida. Each biophilic design element is strategically utilized to enhance the serene atmosphere Hiatus Hotel offers its guests, transforming the hotel from your standard beachfront resort to a true hiatus from the stressors of life.

Incredible Technician Recognition Award

Received by Maurice Smith

For the first time ever, the International Plantscape Awards presented the Incredible Technician Recognition awards. We are thrilled to announce that one of our technicians, Maurice Smith, is one of the first technicians to receive this honor. Maurice is a core member of our San Antonio installation team. Within our company, he is well known for his hard-working attitude and strong leadership skills. The culture Maurice has helped build at our San Antonio branch has created a more positive environment not only at our San Antonio branch but at all our branches across the Gulf Coast.

We are honored to have so many of our team members receive recognition from the board of judges at the International Plantscape Awards. Our designers and technicians have poured countless hours of hard work into these projects, and many others, to help businesses across the Gulf Coast create healthier environments for themselves, their teammates, and guests of their properties. Without our incredible team, we would not be able to achieve our mission of creating environments where PEOPLE THRIVE. As we continue to move into 2025, we look forward to seeing the spectacular projects our designers and technicians bring to life next.

Want to see more of our team’s work? Follow us on social media or browse our portfolio to see our designers' latest projects.

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