Rooted in Community: How Cityscapes Is Growing Healthier Buildings—and Boston

Cityscapes has been bringing plants into Boston’s commercial spaces since 1992. We sat down with Samantha Goodman to talk about how the company got started, what they are working on, and why their partnership with Green Plants for Green Buildings matters to them.

A passion for plants and people

Founder, Jan Goodman, started with a deep love for plants and a belief that nature belongs in the spaces where people spend their time. It all started with Fleurtacious. In 1992, Jan opened a floral and plant shop at Copley Place in Boston, where a passion for plants and an eye for design first took shape. While the floral business flourished, Jan’s true passion remained in interior plantscaping. Many of her floral clients began requesting plant care and interior landscape services, creating growing demand for that side of the business. That growing demand made the path clear. In 2000 Cityscapes was incorporated, channeling over a decade of experience into a company devoted entirely to bringing plants into urban spaces.

Connected to the community

Sam is clear that giving back is central to how Cityscapes operates. “We are always trying to pay back the city that has helped us grow,” she says, describing Jan’s longstanding approach. The company’s plant truck, Transplanted, sells plants at events around Boston and donates proceeds to local charities. Since 2019, Cityscapes has donated over $100,000 to local nonprofits. The team also volunteers regularly with shelters across the city, including a summer vegetable garden program for children at a local women and children’s shelter.

Their workshops, from succulent gardens to DIY Plant Bars, introduce people to biophilic design in a hands-on way and have become a natural way to connect with new clients. As Sam notes, “Companies hire us for a plant workshop and leave inspired, suddenly they want greenery in their office, and we’re there ready to make it happen.”

Working with architects from the start

One of the bigger, exciting shifts the company has seen in recent years is being brought into projects earlier.

Sam notes that architects are “now really seeing the importance of bringing plantscapers in from the beginning and not just as an afterthought.” Working alongside design teams from the planning phase means the plants are part of the architecture rather than placed around it afterward. It leads to better outcomes for everyone involved.

Cityscapes has also been developing immersion rooms, converting underused office wellness spaces into plant-filled environments where employees can take a real break. Early feedback has been consistently positive, with people reporting feeling noticeably better after spending even a short time inside.

Why GPGB matters

Jan has been involved with Green Plants for Green Buildings for many years and currently serves as the organization’s President. For Cityscapes, the relationship is a natural fit. Sam describes GPGB as “really  doing an amazing job pushing that narrative and the facts that support why we should have plants in spaces we live, work, and occupy.” The CEU programming has allowed Cityscapes team members to lead accredited lunch-and-learns for architects in Boston, the open forums provide useful peer connection, and the broader advocacy work helps move the conversation forward across the whole industry.

Advice from the field

Sam’s advice for others in the industry is straightforward: focus on relationships and try new things one at a time. People choose Cityscapes, she says, “not just as a plantscaping company, but as a relationship they can count on and grow with over time.” Jan continues to bring new ideas to the table, including recent work around food forests and edible plantscaping, and the company keeps looking for ways to do the work a little better each year.

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