Green Spaces
Area businesses creatively incorporate plants into their decor
BY Amanda Lisk
Local businesses are creatively incorporating plants into commercial spaces, making them the focus of their interior design.
The employee café at MegaCorp Logistics features giant moss wall panels, The Coastal Succulent + Design retail shop is like walking into a canopy of greenery, Evolve Companies has an 8-foot gorilla topiary and at The Green House Restaurant customers can dine among aeroponic plant towers.
These Businesses of Distinction are planting in style.
MegaCorp Logistics
It’s a high-energy vibe inside the MegaCorp Logistics Wilmington office as more than 400 employees coordinate the transportation of goods across the continental United States and Canada.
MegaCorp Logisitics is one of the top freight brokerage firms in the country, arranging transportation logistics for many Fortune 500 companies. In addition to being recognized as one of America’s fastest growing private companies by Inc. Magazine, Enquirer Media named MegaCorp a top workplace for 2023. One of the reasons could be that MegaCorp has its own cafeteria inside the corporate office called The Hub.
Lining the walls of The Hub’s two-story ceilings are 4-by-6-foot live moss panels.
“We went with plant wall panels instead of artwork because high ceilings can create a sense of coldness and we thought plants would offset that better than artwork,” says MegaCorp CEO, Ryan Legg. “Plants can also make a space feel more inviting and comfortable, which contributes to a more welcoming and hospitable environment for clients, visitors and employees.”
Plants absorb background noise, allowing for better concentration. They are linked to the improved health of employees, resulting in fewer sick days for offices with plants compared to those without.
“It was really neat to hear the chattering around the office when they went up about how nice it was to have something different. They were very well received,” Katie Braskett, MegaCorp director of marketing, says of the moss panels.
MegaCorp has live plants scattered throughout the office and brings in seasonal touches such as mums and pumpkins for fall and poinsettias for Christmas.
In addition to its Ashes Drive headquarters in Wilmington, MegaCorp has offices in South Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky and Florida and has coordinated close to 1.4 million truckloads of goods.
The Coastal Succulent
Ten years ago, succulents were not yet trending on the East Coast. Regardless, Brandon McKeown and Thurston Pope, co-owners of The Coastal Succulent + Design, decided to put together succulent arrangements using conch shells and terrariums and sell them at the Oyster Festival in Ocean Isle Beach. “And we sold out,” laughs McKeown. “We said, ‘OK, this is probably something. We’re not sure what, but something.’”
The company was picked up by Whole Foods to do succulent arrangements for the chain store’s floral department. From there, McKeown and Pope say their business grew organically. They began working with interior designers to style residential and commercial spaces using plants.
In 2022, The Coastal Succulent opened its first storefront. Drawing inspiration from SoHo House hotels, Lindsey Cheek of Gathered used moody hues, textured walls and a stacked layout of handmade glazed subway tile for the cash wrap.
“It’s like walking into a canopy of greenery, so inviting,” Cheek says.
The studio is used as a retail space, workshop, and design center where McKeown, Pope and operations manager Baylee Shane create custom designs for homes and offices such as the moss wall covering for a workspace at the offices of Tongue & Groove.
A recent study by the National Library of Medicine found plants in the workplace reduce stress among employees. Research by the University of Exeter showed plants at the office increase productivity by 15 percent.
“We cut out wood panels, affixed the moss, and then assembled the panels on-site to fit the space,” says McKeown.
“Every single piece of moss is hand affixed by us in our studio, that’s how we achieve the artistic design; we are very aesthetic driven,” says Pope.
The look provides a real-plant feel without any upkeep.
Deciding between using real or faux plants at the office depends on the space.
“Live indoor plants do best with ample natural light,” Pope says.
The Renaissance Dental Studio and Michael Best & Friedrich LLP law offices opted for live plants. The Hawthorne at Oleander clubhouse decided to go with hanging faux ferns and Spanish moss.
Evolve Companies
Evolve Companies, a development and management company with offices in Wilmington and Greensboro, was recently recognized as one of the 25 largest builders in the United States. It has constructed more than 11,000 multi-family apartment homes across the Southeast including Hawthorne at Oleander and Hawthorne at Smith Creek apartments in Wilmington.
Evolve opened its Wilmington headquarters in 2019, renovating the former Kefi’s Tavern on Eastwood Road into a stylish office building fitted with modern furnishings and fixtures — and plants. Faux fig trees and custom faux greenery including moss frames are tucked into employee meeting spaces and hallways creating a lush, lively feel without the hassle of maintenance, perfect for a busy office.
“We get a lot of compliments. The plants are definitely a conversation piece when visitors come in,” says Shawna Raines, Evolve Companies development marketing coordinator.
The plant getting the most attention is the 8-foot-tall gorilla topiary in Evolve’s outdoor courtyard.
Evolve Companies, a development and management company with offices in Wilmington and Greensboro, was recently recognized as one of the 25 largest builders in the United States. It has constructed more than 11,000 multi-family apartment homes across the Southeast including Hawthorne at Oleander and Hawthorne at Smith Creek apartments in Wilmington.
Whether real or faux, adding plants to a room elevates the aesthetic, the mood, and the oxygen level when live. Plants just make everything better.
Evolve opened its Wilmington headquarters in 2019, renovating the former Kefi’s Tavern on Eastwood Road into a stylish office building fitted with modern furnishings and fixtures — and plants. Faux fig trees and custom faux greenery including moss frames are tucked into employee meeting spaces and hallways creating a lush, lively feel without the hassle of maintenance, perfect for a busy office.
“We get a lot of compliments. The plants are definitely a conversation piece when visitors come in,” says Shawna Raines, Evolve Companies development marketing coordinator.
The plant getting the most attention is the 8-foot-tall gorilla topiary in Evolve’s outdoor courtyard.
“People must see it from the street when they drive by because we will see them pull in and there will be people out there taking photos with the gorilla,” laughs Raines.
The gorilla was a request from the CEO.
“He wanted something eye-catching and different and unique. We landed on the gorilla,” says Thurston Pope, co-owner of The Coastal Succulent, which worked with Evolve’s Level Five Designs from Raleigh in creating custom plant designs.
Evolve originally began in 1998 in Greensboro as Mega Builders and rebranded in 2015 to Evolve Companies when it moved to Wilmington. They opened their permanent office in the former Kefi’s in 2019.
The Green House Restaurant
With exterior walls of the entry covered in live plants, it is clear from the start what The Green House at the corner of Eastwood and Military Cutoff is all about.
“The core of everything we do is sustainability,” says Anastasia Worrell, co-owner of the restaurant that has an entirely plant-based menu.
Giant bird of paradise plants cascade the waiting area, rows of tropical plants separate tables, and to the side of the restaurant is a greenhouse.
“Having an actual greenhouse onsite is where the name of the restaurant came from,” says Worrell.
The greenhouse is considered a farm with more than 10 aeroponic plant towers that grow the greens and veggies used in The Green House meals. Guests can request to dine among the plant towers for a private, specially curated meal.
“We started offering dining experiences in the greenhouse where people can eat in the greens and have a chef’s choice menu,” says Worrell.
Sourcing everything from the onsite greenhouse or from a second greenhouse offsite and from local farmers, The Green House is 100 percent farm-to-table, or tower-to-table.
The interiors were done by Worrell, who also owns nearby Slice of Life (one of five), and co-owner Laura Tiblier, who also owns Ceviche’s.
“We were guided by the menu being plant-based. Clean food, clean walls. We went with all white walls,” says Worrell.
The exterior green wall is by Foliage Design Systems. Worrell’s favorite menu item is the grilled lion’s mane mushroom dish. The mushrooms are sourced from a local grower and the potatoes, roasted tomatoes, onions and scallions are grown in the plant towers. It is topped with a Peruvian aji amarillo sauce.