We are firm believers in the positive power of plants – plants help us relax, but they also help us to focus, get more creative, and find inspiration. In our book PLANT TRIBE we have delved into the strong power of plants when it comes to being creative. We pledge that you surround yourself with nature in order to trigger your creativity and boost inspiration. Hence, plants in (home) offices are the way to go! And thanks to the new plant modules from Swiss design brand USM Haller you can now combine a piece of design furniture with your love for plants.
To celebrate the launch of the new USM Haller plant modules and their campaign ‘A World of Plants for USM Haller’ we have teamed up with USM to show you four home stories where plant enthusiasts live, create, work, meet and celebrate life surrounded by nature. These features will come over the course of this year to bring you more ideas on how to live happily ever after with plants.
The second home story takes us to the new home in the South of France of our co-founder Judith de Graaff. Judith is the co-author of both our books, Urban Jungle and Plant Tribe, and founded the Urban Jungle Bloggers community together with Igor Josifovic-Kemper in 2013. In Judith’s new home in the Ardèche, the spacious entry and hallway lacked structure and functionality. As a connecting space between entry, living room, kitchen, and all bedrooms of the home, the hallway was mostly used by her cats to play and run around. Lot of precious floor and storage space was left unused as well. Thus, a full shelving unit from USM Haller was the best option to combine design, space for storage as well as display, and a stylish solution for Judith’s houseplants.
The USM Haller shelving unit includes three new plant modules. Each plant module features three integrated plant pots with a watering set, consisting of a pot insert and water level indicator. There is no need for worries about dripping water or soggy plant roots – the simple yet smart watering insert and the indicators help you water your plants when needed without overwatering and without any spilling. Additionally, the plant pots come in two varieties: Basalt or Terracotta, as Judith has chosen for her white USM Haller shelving unit.
The entry and hallway of Judith’s home in the South of France has a bright and sunny vibe. Lots of natural light comes in through the big windows, filtered by striped blinds that add a touch of “holiday” to the space, a hint to the surroundings of the house: a popular holiday destination. Two oversized mirrors reflect the light throughout the hallway and complement the white facades and metal grid of the USM Haller shelves. On the rear end of the shelves, a USM Haller book display unit allows to show off the Plant Tribe and Urban Jungle books, and it also has a convenient storage behind to keep the international language editions of the books.
USM Haller shelves added multifunctionality to Judith’s hallway: there’s a coat rack as well as a wide bench to read or hang out with the cats (or spoil them with cat candy before bedtime). The plant modules are home to nine large plants that match the light situation of the hallway. The Alocasia sarawakensis, Philodendron birkin and Chamaedorea elegans soak up the largest amounts of light on the rear end closest to the windows, as where the Thaumatophyllum xanadu, Ficus robusta and Homalomena get only indirect light and the large Schefflera thrives in semi-shade near the bench. For everyone who lives with plants and pets: the USM plant modules are ideal too: with the big pots neatly stuck into the plant modules, there is no risk of cats or dogs tipping over the pots.
Traveling is one of our favorite sources of inspiration. Yes, also for us plant people. Because whenever we travel we like to discover the ‘green side’ of each city or country. This goes from the obvious like leafy parks and lush botanical gardens, over plant-filled cafés and restaurants to cool plant shops and green hotels. The same happened when we traveled to the Croatian capital Zagreb recently. The weekend city trip was filled with green discoveries and a fantastic visit to a close by national park. Despite the rainy weather we enjoyed green sights, delicious flavors and abundant nature in Croatia. Let us show you some of our highlights!
Kaptol Boutique Cinema & Bar:Just a few steps from the old town you will find the Kaptol. Boutique Cinema & Bar. Don’t be scared by the fact that this cool café belongs to a cinema and is located in a shopping mall. The cinema features a WOW Bar with a cool tower of old light signs and movie quotes as well as a lush green café with a line up of tall fiddle figs and other plants. However, be warned that this area is smoke-friendly (as quite often in Croatia).
Dizajn Cvijeca Sasa Sekoranja & Velvet Black & White: When it comes to plant & floral design, Sasa Sekoranja is the name in Zagreb. He runs a boutique with eclectic floral designs, and two adjacent cafés invite the visitors to have a little break – the White Velvet and Black Velvet bar featuring some nice plants and great coffee and sweets.
Swanky Monkey Garden: The Swanky Monkey Garden is part of the Swanky Mint Hostel and features multiple bars, terraces, a winter dome and pool parties in summer. Do we need to add that it is full of plants as well? Get your cocktail and enjoy it in a really cool urban spot in Zagreb!
Greenery Procaffe: This hipster café features hanging plants all around and a relaxed urban atmosphere. Great for a drink in the evening or a coffee during the day – but be warned: it gets packed in the evening and here again, it is a smoke friendly place.
Botaničar:Just opposite the botanical garden this café invites its guests with a little group of cacti and other plants in front of the door. The café itself has a very cozy atmosphere with some nice greenery to make you feel right at home as a plant lover. If we can reduce the number of smokers, we would even stay there for much longer! Great for a short stop-over when you visit the botanical garden!
Botanic Garden: Zagreb’s botanic garden is small but still worth visiting if you are a a plant loving person. This garden struggles with financial support as it does not belong to the city but it is actually a botanical garden of the university. The few greenhouses are in poor conditions and not open to public, but the garden itself features a beautiful selection of plants including some really old trees considered as plant fossils. A smaller greenhouse houses water plants, bromeliads, Nepenthes and other humidity loving species.
Le Bistro Esplanade: Le Bistro is one of the two restaurants in Zagreb’s chic Esplanade Hotel. The bistro has a French vibe with a winter garden style, large leafy plants and delicious food! Try some local dishes and local wines – the Chardonnay is exquisite! Do not skip the sweets – the selection is refined and the desserts themselves scrumptious!
Basta Gourmet Bar: If you’re looking for the best pizza in town, follow the plants along the patio to the terrace of Basta, just around the corner from the flower square. If the weather allows, pick your favorite wood oven pizza and enjoy it on the green terrace. If it’s too cold or raining (like in our case), order one of the local Croatian craft beers and one of the delicious Basta pizzas and cozy up inside. Dobar tek!
Donos Art Apartment: This apartment located in Zagreb’s city center is quite a place to stay. Why? Well first of all: it has 11 beds! Yes, 11 beds! So if you plan a group trip to Zagreb, book this place! But even if you are only two, you can feel almost royal in the spacious apartment. We admit, plants are a bit scarce in this apartment (but we heard it is mostly because some visitors were not so nice to the plants), but the missing plants are made up by art. The apartment is filled with art from local and regional artists and yes, every piece is for sale too. So you won’t only feel comfortabel there, but also like living in a gallery. Not bad!
Plitvice Lakes: This is truly a highlight and should not be missing on your travel itinerary! Even if you go just for a weekend to Zagreb, do not miss a day trip to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. This is considered Croatia’s most beautiful national park and we agree even without knowing the other national parks! Why? Because the moment you arrive there you will be awe struck by the beautiful landscape. the roaring waterfalls and the crystalline waters. You can tour the park for 2-3 hours along trailing paths, you can take an electric(!) boat and a bus within the park to roam around. We strongly recommend to visit this park off season as it does get very crowded in summer. Autumn is a great choice! Expect some moody fog, low hanging clouds and colorful foliage. We loved it very much! The Unesco World Heritage site, since 1979, has a sustainable approach to tourism, with electric transportation and nature trails marked with all natural materials and there are several eco lodges in the park. Moreover, this national park features more than 50 endemic orchid species – so be prepared for your botanical expedition!
This trip was organized in collaboration with the Croatian Tourism Organization.
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Ok let’s be frank: New York is always worth a trip! No matter your interests, your likings, your plans. The city that never sleeps offers it all – for everybody. So if you are a plant freak like us, you will enjoy the city to the max too. Just like we did a few weeks ago when we went to New York City for an exciting upcoming plant project (stay tuned). We snapped away with our smartphones and brought back some of our favorite green tips for New York – bookmark these if you plan a visit and love plants. Let’s roll!
Let’s first start with some plant shopping. It’s very easy to find some nice plants in the Big Apple! You can go to the Chelsea Flower Market, or visit one of the cool urban plant shops in town. Our list was long and between meetings & lunches we managed to visit quite a few. Our first stop is at the beautiful Green Fingers Market, by talented Satoshi Kawamoto, the Japanese plant artist and creative director behind Green Fingers also known as Satie San. If you like his signature style of unique vintage treasures and plants, make sure to also check out our post about the Green Fingers plant shop in Milan HERE.
Green Fingers Market – 5 Rivington street – New York, NY 10002
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We received so many DMs from friends & Urban Jungle Bloggers that we HAD to visit Sprout in Brooklyn. One of their stores in Grand Street is all about dressing a beautiful table and kitchen ware, paired with beautiful greenery. And just across the street you can find their XXL shop with anything planty and floral.
Houseplants in every size, shape and color, a repotting station, cooled flowers, airplants, a really nice selection of ceramics, glassware, plant pots, plant hangers, tools, soils, stones & gems, terrariums and more at this XXL shop with exposed bricks and bright yellow, pink and black accents. The design of the shop is spacious, clean and makes the plants stand out really well. We loved it and fell hard for the Etch planters by Capra Designs, but also purchased some nice smaller ceramics and citrine stones!
Sprout Home – 59 Grand Street – Brooklyn, NY 11249
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Coffee and plants are always a good idea! Welcome to Plant Shed where you can sit down for a coffee, treat yourself to a new houseplant, or purchase a freshly picked bouquet for a friend. Or buy one the fun planters, like the Modernica large Mushroom planters:
Plant Shed – 1 Prince St. (at Bowery) – New York, NY 10012
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More plants, coffee and flowers… different style! You can shop for all of it at one of the locations of Homecoming. They also stock some really nice books and magazines, ceramics, candles, watering cans, glassware, plaids. Everything to make coming home even nicer!
Plants and coffee are nice, but what about really good vintage designs and plants? The spacious shop of Other Times in Brooklyn has a fantastic selection of vintage furniture (like Danish Design sideboards), lamps, mirrors, planters and books, paired with tall Sansevieira, cereus cacti, Stromanthe triostar, fiddle figs, palms and more… Oh and make sure to check out their cool selection of vintage books as well. The titles are hilarious!
Other Times Vintage– 48 Bogart St – Brooklyn, NY 11206
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If there is one shop that doesn’t need an introduction, it’s The Sill. They are the best in online marketing and make ordering plants online so easy! They propose the most easy going common houseplants, delivered in their own The Sill ceramics. We visited both locations, on in the Upper Westside, the other one in Chinatown. They just opened a shop in Los Angeles as well. Welcome to The Sill jungle!
The Sill – 84 Hester Street – New York, NY 10002 & 448 Amsterdam Ave – New York, NY 10024 (new location in LA: 8125 W 3rd Street)
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Also in China town: this not very fancy, but oh-so-interesting Plant shop called Dahing Plants where our friend Brian took us one night before a just-as-fancy meal (Mac & Cheese spring rolls anyone?!). At Dahing Plants they have a surprising selection of bigger plants, like the XL blooming Jade plants you see in the picture below, for hard-to-beat prices. Definitely worth a visit when you’re looking for something big and affordable in New York:
Plant shopping makes you hungry! Time for a break and indulge in a green café, like at Stonefruit Espresso in Brooklyn. Yummy food and drinks that you can enjoy at the large communal table in the back where you can create your own bouquet of dried flowers, buy a new houseplant, find nice planty accessories, like the pins and keyrings by our friend Samantha from Hemleva.
In the back of the Williamsburg location of Juice Generation you’ll find a huge glass window that gives you a peek into a large urban jungle with real tropical plants. A good idea they put all plants behind glass, because you could get tempted to snap a cutting of one of these 😉
The best freshly roasted coffee, with a large vertical garden with as a backdrop? Go to Devoción Coffee. They roast their own coffee blends, their vertical garden features 150 Colombian native coffee plants and their granola bar is to die for!
Devocíon – 69 Grand St. (at Wythe) – Brooklyn, NY 11249
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At Little Park restaurant, in the heart of TriBeCa, they serve seasonal food that highlights local farmers, anglers, vintners, ranchers and foragers. From farm to table, in a nice setting with lush Golden Pothos that create a green curtain in front of the windows:
If you are looking for a fun place to stay in Brooklyn, consider renting a room in The Funky Loft. We met with owner Marcella in her spacious loft in the heart of Bushwick, Brooklyn that looks like a quirky and funky home where you can feel at home, play some funky tunes on the piano, admire the many thriving plants, hang out with other guests, pin your hometown on the custom map, or just relax in your own private room. Funky and good vibes guaranteed!
When you think of visiting your dentist, you probably don’t think of cool plants, stylish design, a home-y feel or staff that makes you feel like friends, Yet, it is exactly what you’ll get when your dentist is called Dr Jennifer Plotnick. Her state-of-the-art practice on Grand Street (neighboring Sprout Plant Shop), called Grand Street Dental makes you want to hang out at your dentist every day. Their selection of plants by the famous Putnam Flowers, are just gorgeous.
And one thing that is on our list wherever we go: to visit the local botanical garden. The NYC Botanical Garden requires some time to get there, but a visit to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden was easier to fit into our schedule. The park outside was in full hibernation mode, but inside the greenhouses it was green and lush, humid and dry. Very inspiring and very Instagrammable too!
– The High Line – An elevated freight rail line transformed into a public park on Manhattan’s West Side. It wasn’t very green when we visited this February, but we were told it’s really nice in Spring and Summer.
– Rooted – 81 Quay St – Brooklyn, NY 11222, USA – The guys that deliver a curated collection of pre-potted plants delivered straight to your door, now also have a brick & mortar shop!
– Greenery NYC – 91 West Street – Brooklyn, NY 11222 – Freshly opened, just days after we left NYC: the world’s first biophilic design store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Photography by Urban Jungle Bloggers This blogpost was not sponsored, we genuinely enjoyed all these green spots!
A few weeks ago we were in Zurich, Switzerland. We were invited to attend the “Textile & Fashion Days” of the Swiss Textile College in Zurich. Why you might wonder? Because their topic this year is called: Urban Jungle! We brought in our plant expertise and spoke about the Urban Jungle Bloggers community and our book and we also hosted a plant hanger workshop. In the evening there was a Slow Fashion Performance in a cool underground urban jungle, full of lush grasses, hostas, greenhouses and soil. You can have a look what that looked liked in our highlighted story on Instagram.
We spent the weekend in Zurich soaking up the first sunshine of the season, made a boat tour on Lake Zurich, indulged in Swiss traditional food (at Zeughauskeller), we enjoyed the finest chocolate and visited some of the greenest places of the city. Read on to discover the places we think you should not miss when you’re planning a trip to Zurich. Get yourself a Zurich Card for free or reduced access to 41 museums, unlimited tram, bus, train and cableway, boat trips and more. Ready? Here we go!
Where to go if you love plants?
Old Botanical Garden
photo by Roland zh
We start with a walk in the park in the Old Botanical Garden in the middle of the city. The small greenhouse (closed to the public) houses a nice collection of tropical plants that you can admire through the glass. For more parks and gardens in Zurich, check out the Visit Zurich website here.
Botanical Garden and the Greenhouse Domes
photo by Botanical Garden at the University of Zurich
With around 7000 different plant species spread over an area of about 53,000 m2 there is always something to see in the Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich. The most interesting part of the garden for us Urban Jungle Bloggers are the tropical greenhouse domes with their lush foliage and desert plants. Make sure to visit before 17:00, as the tropical greenhouses close earlier than the garden. A bummer, because we missed visiting the inside of the domes, which looked gorgeous from the outside!
Sukkulenten Sammlung
This is a succulent lover’s dream! Open since 1931, the “Succulent Collection Zurich” houses one of the largest collections of succulent plants in Europe. In the seven greenhouses you can walk past the entire collection that consists of 4500 different species from 78 plant families. Take at least an hour (or better… a few!) to wander around the greenhouses and admire the huge variety of textures, shapes and colours of all the plants on display. The Sukkulenten Sammlung is located at a 20 minute walk from the city center, and a nice break from the buzzing city life.
Masaola Rainforest in the Zurich Zoo
Zoo Zürich
In this tropical “mini rainforest ecosystem”, you get to experience animals in their natural habitat. Covering a total area of 11,000 m2, it is home to geckos, turtles, snakes, parrots and many other rainforest creatures. All information about the Rainforest in the Zoo, can be found HERE.
Where to eat & drink?
Pause
This is what you would call a real Urban Jungle Bloggers café: a nice selection of yummy sandwiches and salads that you can enjoy in a hip urban jungle with dozens of (real!) plants. The vibrant color of the interior of Pause match the green of the foliage. Not to be missed if you’re in the neighborhood!
Neni Zurich West
photo by Neni
In the cool 25 Hours Hotel Zurich, with its jungle-ish hotel lobby, you’ll find the Zurich West location of restaurant Neni (they also have a location at the Langstrasse). Neni serves dishes from all around the world, but have a slightly Oriental vibe. Think: humus, spring rolls, hamshuka, Tel Aviv streetfood, falafel, Korean fried chicken, Romanian Sakuska… Yummm!
The world’s first vegetarian restaurant according to the Guiness Book of Records is in Zurich! And it is named Hiltl! No wonder their various spots across the city boost with plants and greenery for an extra cool and healthy lunch break! Also check out their rooftop terrace and bar in the city center as well as their cute café/bar in a flower shop. All locations can be found HERE.
When a place is called “The Artisan – Kitchen & Urban Garden” you know it is the right spot for any Urban Jungle Blogger, right? Delicious food, good coffee, a relaxed atmosphere and of course lots of greenery define this place. Go check it out when in Zurich – you can find The Artisan HERE.
photography by Urban Jungle Bloggers, except credited above
Usually we unite our forces to bring the best of the green blogger world to all of you. But this summer we had to split up and discover – almost simultaneously – two hotels in two Spanish cities that are made for Urban Jungle Bloggers: the Praktik Garden Hotel in Barcelona and the Praktik Metropol Hotel in Madrid. Vamos!
In the heart of vibrant Barcelona, between the Passeig de Gràcia and the Sagrada Familia, you’ll find the Praktik Garden Hotel. It’s hard to miss the hotel entry from the outside: you are welcomed by lots of potted plants and trees in front of bright red doors:
Once inside, it may take a minute to reach your room, because there are dozens of potted plants to be admired in the lobby of the hotel:
As you would expect with a name like Praktik Garden, the hotel has a beautiful terrace garden. Between waving palm trees and lush banana trees you can hang out and relax, right in the middle of the city. It doesn’t get more Urban Jungle than this!
The rooms in the hotel are designy with great lighting and very comfy beds. They also have beautiful black & white tiles on the bathroom- and balcony floors. And as an extra “UJB-pleasing feature”: each room has different botanical art on the walls:
If you head to the Spanish capital Madrid, you should definitely consider staying at the Praktik Metropol hotel in downtown Madrid. It is located in a buzzing corner and a few walking minutes away from the central square and the royal palace. But it is not so much the location that will make your stay unforgettable!
The Praktik Metropol hotel is situated in a nice building that also hosts other hotels/hostels but the Praktik Metropol has one advantage to show off: an extensive rooftop terrace covered in lush greens, sunbeds and stunning 360 degrees views of Madrid. I was literally in awe when I went up there! Decorative grasses, succulents, olive trees, palm trees, blooming plants in cheerful buckets – the rooftop terrace looks like a secluded oasis in the buzzing city center of Madrid.
Feeling the travel bug? Well, you know where to go to now!
