Our 4th Interiorscape Magazine Best Project Award, Princeton, NJ

What is a CWI? This stands for Controlled
Watering Insert and is the state-of-the-art in
sub-irrigation. This provides perfectly even
moisture levels 24/7/365 regardless of what the
HVAC system does. This cross-section of one
shows the moisture sensor and the
double-walled integral reservoir - which also
makes this system waterproof unto itself.
Ficus trees especially LOVE this system. By
providing this ideal moisture and eliminating wet-

The 1st challenge was this 12' tall Garden Wall with very deep built-in planters. You may ask "Why is this a challenge?"

In early 2007, we were contracted
to install tropical plants and trees
into one of New Jersey's premier
fitness clubs & spas -
Can-Do Fitness & Koi Spa
in Princeton, NJ.

This project resulted in our
5th Interiorscape Magazine
Best Project Award -
and our 4th year in a row!

Our solution? Our Exclusive Plywood
Bridge System - topped off with
Rockafillers™ - Faux stones molded
from recycled black poly-resin which
cover and stack easily for a
top dressing that is affordable,
light weight, and easy to install.

To make this even more affordable, we
used black mulch over the plywood and
under the Rockafillers™. These faux
stones also matched the black stone
floor in the spa lobby/retail area.

Most interiorscapers would haul
bags of stones or styro peanuts
(for drainage) and more bags of
soil-less mix and bark chips up
ladders (messy and dangerous).
This mixture would settle over
time, not allow plants to be
turned or easily replaced, and
would promote cockroaches,
especially with all the food
present at this facility.

The second challenge was the featured trees. The client initially wanted 12'
trees, but the cost was simply beyond the budget.

Our solution was to get 17" pot Ficus 'Wintergreen' Multi-Trunk trees at
9' tall and 'up-pot' them into CWI-2200.

This provided a more 'zen-like' look with the multi trunks; and the larger
CWI-2200 will allow these trees to grow into larger sizes as the conditions
in this area of the fitness center allows.

dry, wet-dry stress, most tropical plants become spectacular specimens. This also
helps Ficus Trees settle in with significantly reduced leaf dropping!

A third challenge was to get plants into difficult situations - either difficult access or very low light.

The 1st was a ledge by a staircase with a
glass wall limiting access. We chose 2 varieties
of Aglaonema - a 10" 'Silver Bay' on the left and a
14" 'Key Largo' on the right - both in CWI's to enable
them to be watered less frequently.

The 1st picture was taken 9/10/07 and this one was taken
10/21/08. This clearly shows how well tropical plants do when
they receive optimal moisture 24/7, in just over a year!

Other difficult areas for live plants were in the Koi Spa,
where subdued lighting was necessary or access impossible on
a regular basis. There we used stylized silk plants,
shown below.