Phipps show goes green in multiple ways

Exceptionally dressed in green ensembles, guests at a dinner party wander about the lawn. Squirrels… Exceptionally dressed in green ensembles, guests at a dinner party wander about the lawn. Squirrels and other small animals frolic through the grass.

Except, everything stays still. That’s because the people are mannequins, and their outfits are composed entirely of leafy  greens. Designers created the animals out of plants too.

Phipps Conservatory is promoting “green” in more than one sense of the word, and this is one of the featured exhibits, created by Kolano Designs.

It’s part of this year’s Summer Flower Show, entitled “Living Harmoniously with Nature,” which features eight local interior designers who decorated the conservatory with displays made with sustainable materials like reclaimed wood and resin..

“I think the conservatory is headed more toward sustainability education … [We thought,] ‘Wouldn’t this be the perfect place to showcase all these sustainable, renewable materials we’re using in interior design?’” said Jordyn Melino, program coordinator for Phipps Conservatory.

Phipp’s search for designers around Pittsburgh started last year with a competition. Local interior designers submitted ideas for plant beds that would showcase “green” or sustainable materials. For example, in one exhibit, repurposed street signs crafted into chairs by New York artist Boris Bally. Behind the chairs is a “living wall” designed by Vicci Franz.

In another room, colorful blooms made from PVC-free fabric, linoleum and resin smile with mirrored faces at people walking past. This display was designed by Mary Olliffe of Devlin Architecture.

Bill Kolano, owner of Kolano Design, designed the dinner party display located in the South Conservatory. Members of his team Jon Withrow and Lauren Gratchick helped bring the designs to life. He referred to the dried plant garments as “hort” couture, or horticulture couture.

The apparent theme of shades of emerald, jade and other hues of green was intentional. Kolano wanted a restricted color palate, which sometimes meant snipping blooms from the plants that were flowering.

Along with the dinner guests is a garden made in the espalier style — the same technique that King Louis XIV’s garden at Versailles featured — and includes peppers, beans and squash among other edible fauna.

“We wanted to plan this formally planted garden that was beautiful and produced nourishment,” Kolano said.

Kolano designed the scene with the growing farm-to-table movement in mind. The designer, who sits on the board of the in-development Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens, said that gardening has quickly become one of the most popular hobbies in the U.S., causing people to take more interest in where their food comes from.

“People are finding a new connection to where their food comes from, and there’s a whole new interest in raising it and growing it and knowing what’s in it, where it came from …” he said. “One of my hobbies is as a restaurant reviewer, and so we’re very much in tune with how people are eating, what people are eating and the importance of the new farm-to-table movement.”

Phipps has become a part of this movement with its Farmers at Phipps markets, held every Wednesday from June through October on Phipps’ historic lawn. Local, certified organic farmers sell their produce at the weekly event.

It’s just one in a number of ways that Phipps is trying to encourage “green” and eco-conscious living. Melino believes that Phipps’ works can help inspire people to do this.

“I think what the show really does is highlight those [sustainable] materials really well, but also highlight those in unique ways, so you can kind of take that back with you and say ‘I can do that too,’” she said.

Claire Miziolek manages the education and outreach programs for GTECH Strategies — a nonprofit devoted to improving quality of life through green economic means. She said her organization often plants sunflowers in old lots because they grow well in compacted city soils.

“Instead of just walking by a vacant lot or maybe throwing your trash there or something like that, you can actually engage in a space in your neighborhood that you hadn’t looked at in a positive way before,” she said.

Miziolek explained how beneficial it can be for the health of a community to have plants around. She advised that students get involved in green organizations and improve their own space by growing flowers and otherplants when and where they can.