College Park, MD--Living Canopies Ltd. is excited to offer the world's first and only Living Umbrella®—a canopy-garden above your head that creates beautiful, nurturing shade and cooler temperatures. It is shaped like a patio umbrella but it has live plants for its canopy instead of a sheet of plastic like old-fashioned umbrellas. It uses beautiful flowering plants, like Suntory's Sun-Parasol Mandevillas, to shade and protect people naturally. The Edible Umbrella® can make urban farming possible where space is limited by growing fruits and vegetables above your head for easy access. Its smart, programmable, solar powered irrigation system makes care simple and easy.
The Living Umbrella® keeps temperatures cool by transpiring water, reflecting sunlight and blocking UV rays. It is net carbon positive with each umbrella avoiding the emission of 25 pounds of CO2 per year. It reduces stormwater flows by acting as microstorage, similar to a forest canopy. It provides pollinator habitat when desired. It supports human wellness via its biophilic design. Its living, dynamic canopy can make people feel better about themselves and about their world.
The Living Umbrella® is a splendid way to make customers happier at restaurants, resorts, hotels, and theme parks by improving the guests' environment. The experience of sitting beneath a Living Umbrella® while sipping on a glass of cabernet is pure, sharable joy.
Ecological engineers at the University of Maryland invented The Living Umbrella®, which is now patent-pending in the United States and European Union.