Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/162450
patient. Offering a batch of products that make urban gardening easy, he's working to transform Vancouver one planter, one balcony and one person at a time. "These days there is absolutely no reason not to have a garden," he says. "And there are a lot of health benefits to having one." Research shows people in offices with interior landscaping are less stressed, more productive and take fewer sick days. Plus, plants clean the air, produce oxygen, absorb noise and reduce the effects of sick building syndrome, or SBS. Just being around plants can help us feel calmer. "Who doesn't need that after a day at work or an hour in traffic?" says Hiltz. Hiltz says he was intuitively attracted to plants at an early age. When he was 10 and growing up in Massachusetts, his mother recognized his interest and bought him four houseplants – setting him off on his new horticultural career path. In 2004 he met his future husband, Vancouver realtor Tim Hiltz, and made the move north of the border. While managing a local garden centre, Mark started to see the potential for small-space gardening. "People want to have gardens, but they don't want to be married to it," he says. "They want to be able to go away for long weekends or two weeks of work and not worry about the plant dying while they're gone." Of course, the physical realities of condo living also come into play. South- and westfacing balconies dry out fast, while northfacing ones can be dark and chilly. All balconies can be extremely windy, and watering can cause conflicts with neighbours, as water spills out of planters and drips onto balconies below. Even for a seasoned gardener, it can be overwhelming. But not for 59-year-old Mark, thanks to his 30-plus years of experience: "I'm at the stage where I can go in and look at a space and immediately see what trees, shrubs, bulbs and annuals will grow there." The inspiration: Italy's Bosco Verticale residential towers courtesy Stefano Boeri Architetti p24-27_Profile.indd 25 Westworld >> fall 2 0 1 3 25 13-08-19 1:13 PM