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MEMBER PROFILE 



height, light, draperies, decor. She 

 discusses needs (sometimes the 

 plants are used as a screen; some- 

 times to control traffic flow), and 

 what all these factors will allow. 



Foliage is the medium and, although 

 there can be variation in shape and 

 texture, she reminds clients looking 

 for "color" that plants are basically 

 green. If needed, she works with in- 

 terior decorators and art consultants 

 to incorporate other elements into 

 the plan. 



Plants used are tropical. Nancy 

 looks for new varieties — a new ag- 

 lonema hybrid — Aglonema "majesty" — 

 is one she likes, but most — philo- 

 dendron, ficus, podocarpus, corn 

 plants — are familiar because they 

 work well in New Hampshire interi- 

 ors. Bamboo palm [Chamaedorea erum- 

 pens) is another of Nancy's favorites, 

 but is used less often because it can 

 appear too "tropical." In New Hamp- 

 shire, most people want something 

 that looks "native" — something low- 

 key and interestingly textured that 

 conveys an appropriate corporate im- 

 age. Planters — often brass or of 

 darker colors — contribute to this 

 look. 



A contract always includes service 

 for at least one year. This gives an 

 opportunity to make modifications 

 and insure correct maintenance. 



In New Hampshire, most people 

 want something that looks 

 "native" — something low-key and 

 interestingly textured that 

 conveys an appropriate corporate 

 image. Planters — often brass or 

 of darker colors — contribute 

 to this look. 



Interior design used to operate 

 under the premise that more was 

 better ("quite often," Nancy says, 

 "more plants crowded together sim- 

 ply meant higher maintenance fees"); 

 now, fewer and larger plants are 

 used. Nancy likes the idea of incor- 

 porating interior plantings with out- 

 side views — letting inside and out- 



side flow into each other This is rare 

 here: the best of her plantings work 

 as living architectural elements, as 

 enhancements of a clearly defined 

 interior space. 



Nancy cites a design at Divine, 

 Millimet, & Branch, a law office in 

 the old post office building on 

 Chestnut Street in Manchester as 

 particularly successful; "Two large 

 Malaysian dracaenas [Pleomele reflexa) 

 flank a replica of the Liberty Bell, .in 

 the lower atrium, a planter bed onto 

 which you look down from the 

 upper. ..a combination of good archi- 

 tecture, design, and planting form a 

 package." 



NANCY BUYS DIRECTLY FROM 

 FLORIDA through a broker. Occa- 

 sionally plants (large trees in cold 

 weather, for example) go directly to 

 the client, but most are delivered to 

 her warehouse and she brings them 

 to the jobs in one of the company 

 vans. Plants come in the correct size 

 for the job and rarely come out of 

 their original containers. These are 

 placed in larger decorative planters, 

 stabilized with styrofoam, then cov- 

 ered with moss. 



"In plants from Florida, fungus 

 gnats can be a problem. We used to 

 apply chemicals — systemics like 

 Oxamyl, but now we use nema- 

 todes — they live in the soil and eat 

 the larvae. We buy them in quantity 

 and store them in the refrigerator. 

 We also use predatory mites — very 

 aggressive." If a plant is prone to 

 spider mites, the solution is often to 

 change the variety. Sprays — Enstar, 



Turcam, insecticidal soaps — are used 

 against mealy bugs, scale, and thrips. 

 Plants are removed and sprayed out- 

 side, usually with a two-gallon back- 

 pack sprayer, as unobtrusively as 

 possible. 



Although she may incorporate fall 

 mums or do a few annual plantings, 

 installations don't change unless the 

 space changes. 



She doesn't do holiday installa- 

 tions, although clients can buy poin- 

 settias (from D.S. Cole and Murray 

 Farms) through her for their own use. 

 "We do what we do well and we've 

 never become involved with holiday 

 decorating." 



In winter light, the job is simply 

 maintenance. Fertilizing (usually 

 Peterson's 27-14-4) stops in Septem- 

 ber and doesn't begin again until 

 March. Any slow-release fertilizer is 

 removed from the pots. Watering is 

 cut back. 



REFERRALS COME from satisfied 

 clients and through a network of in- 

 terior designers and architects, some 

 of whom she's met through member- 

 ship in 'Plan NH,' "a foundation of all 

 disciplines that impact New Hamp- 

 shire's built environment." Planners, 

 builders, architects — people who might 

 not ordinarily talk to one another — 

 meet and share points of view on 

 "ways to improve the New Hamp- 

 shire community through excellence 

 in planning, design, and develop- 

 ment." Begun in 1989, the group's ac- 

 tivities include breakfast and din- 

 ner forums on such topics as Man- 

 chester's airport expansion and Pease 

 redevelopment; there's a Community 

 Stewardship Program that works with 

 town officials on local zoning. ..it's 

 fairly active — a way to look at 

 broader issues and to show commit- 

 ment to better design. 



Two professional organizations — 

 the Association of Landscape Con- 

 tractors of America (ALCA), Interior 

 Landscape Division, and the New 

 England Interior Landscape Associa- 

 tion (NEILA) — are also important 

 sources of contacts and new ideas. 



She doesn't advertise, but finds 

 ways to keep in the public's eye. 



THE PLANTSMAN 



