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Additional Resources

The Temple Residence and Plant Connection were featured on the January 10, 2014 season premiere of Treehouse Masters. To learn more, watch clips of the episode including the behind the build of Temple of Adventure and the living wall reveal at A Treehouse Full of Adventure is Revealed on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. Watch the 2:00 video Treehouse Masters Temple Residence – Project of the Week 8/18/14 from Greenroofs.com on the greenroofsTV channel on YouTube. View Plant Connection’s G-O2 Living Wall e-Newsletter Behind the Scenes on Treehouse Masters.

For project inquiries contact: Anthony Caggiano, President of Plant Connection, Inc. at 1.888.78.PLANT; myplantconnection.com; or anthony@myplantconnection.com.

Treehouse Masters on Animal Planet is a show where host Pete Nelson designs treehouses for those with a passion to reconnect with nature. When they decided that a living wall would be a great addition for an upcoming adventure-themed jungle treehouse located in the Poconos, they researched living wall companies. Upon their findings and our extensive portfolio of living wall projects, they felt our G-O2 system would be the best fit for the treehouse. It also didn’t hurt that Plant Connection, Inc. (PCI) is located in nearby New York! We did not know any details about the family prior to designing the living wall; we only received elevations of the treehouse showing the extent of the façade to be planted. We also had images of the site and surrounding area so that we could better understand the setting and how the theme would relate.

The main purpose of the living wall was to add design, beauty, and uniqueness to the house. Our style and design incorporated an adventure type feel to work great with the theme of the treehouse. We wanted the wall to pop on camera, but also fit the surrounding landscape.

Our living wall designer hand-selected the plant palette to not only be bold with texture, but also still harmonize with its setting. Drawing on inspiration from the surrounding landscape and the adventure/jungle theme, Sabrina sculpted out the shape of a gnarly tree. The trunk/branches are Coral Bells. The “canopy” is Autumn Fern with some Japanese Forest Grass acting as dappled sunlight peeking through. Sabrina incorporated Ivy along the bottom (which will also trail down past the wall, adding to the jungle theme) to represent the undulating landscape, with a horizon line of Spurge to symbolize the creek below. Sabrina felt for TV, having a tree pop out of a living wall on a treehouse would be very exciting. In all, the living wall on the adventure-themed treehouse contains more than 700 plants!

The access was definitely unique. We used a pump jack, which is used by roofers so we basically had a narrow platform that we had to pump up and down on stations with our feet to move up and down on the wall. We also had to bring all the materials across a ravine to get to where the treehouse was situated on the property.

The producers wanted Pete Nelson, the host of Treehouse Masters, to be hands-on so we included him in all aspects of the installation – from hanging the mounting brackets to hanging the actual panels and installing the irrigation. Pete even hung himself from a bracket to prove how strong they were and how much weight they could hold! Pete was really a pleasure to work with. Not only is he fun, but he also is truly passionate about what he does just like we are, so we felt like kindred spirits right away. He and his crew employ a very high level of craftsmanship.

The living wall is located along the side of the treehouse where a rock climbing wall and cocoon-like hammocks are for the kids to play with. The rooms inside also have views of the living wall foliage peeking up around the windows. The family will be taking care of the green wall using the maintenance guidelines we left with the producers of the show.

It is a lot of work and very time consuming to create a television show. While the entire episode is only an hour, the treehouse takes 4 weeks to build! There are so many details that go into producing one hour of entertainment. Plant Connection is very grateful for the opportunity to be included on Treehouse Masters, working alongside the very talented Pete Nelson and his entire team. We want to thank all those who made this possible. We hope the family enjoys the living wall and the treehouse for years to come. And, we hope when people watch the show, it inspires them to think outside – and on the wall!

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