Project Overview
The client: Dario, an Italian restaurant in Minneapolis’s popular North Loop
Job description: Provide plant design and installation for Dario’s outdoor dining patio
Goals: Extend the restaurant’s Miami-inspired jungle theme outdoors and create an urban oasis separating the dining patio from the busy urban environment.
Timeline: One day installation
Key plant design components:
- Creative planter installation for structural stability in high wind
- Tall, wind-tolerant jungle-inspired plants
- Hot pink impatiens to reflect Dario’s signature brand color
Summary
We first worked with Dario, an Italian restaurant in the North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis, to provide plant design and installation for the interior space before the restaurant opened in 2024.
Dario’s design leans on Miami-inspired hues and shapes, resulting in a bright, colorful space with curving lines and soft textures. Once the sun sets, the bright hues give the space a warm glow. We provided an abundance of plants to complete the warm, tropical aesthetic. (See it here.)
A year later, Dario asked us to extend that lush, tropical design to their outdoor dining patio, and we were happy to get to work.
Considerations:
- High wind
- Busy urban environment with both car and foot traffic
- No permanent barriers between the public sidewalk and dining patio
Results:
Dining Patio
The restaurant has a small dining room, and the approximately 700-square-foot patio provides a significant increase in seating during temperate months. We added over 150 plants to build an urban oasis and separate the patio from the surrounding environment.
Rectangular planters containing Cataractarum palms, interspersed with round containers containing Birds of Paradise and hot-pink Impatiens, form a border demarcating the patio from the public city sidewalk.
An Oasis Amid Wind Tunnels and Traffic
The restaurant is tucked between skyscrapers and a freeway overpass, which create a wind tunnel effect. The patio planters and plants we chose are designed to withstand high wind.
The potted palms, which make up the bulk of the patio border, are tall and dense enough to make the patio feel like a hidden oasis, sheltered from traffic, while also withstanding high winds.
The client requested help choosing planters that are light enough for restaurant staff to move into storage at the end of patio season. We chose light fiber glass containers that, with bags of gravel tucked inside as ballast, are also stable enough to withstand strong winds.
Design Continuity
The overall design brief called for continuing the restaurant’s lush, jungle, Miami-inspired theme. We used similar matte-white planters in a mix of rounded and straight lines to evoke sea shells and white-sand beaches.
The tall, striking Birds of Paradise create another element of continuity between the indoor and outdoor dining spaces.
Hot-pink Impatiens, planted around the Birds of Paradise, highlight the restaurant’s signature brand color and represent another element in continuing the Miami theme.
Managing Foot Traffic
Because Dario serves alcohol, Minneapolis city ordinances require that passersby are not able to walk through the patio space. The planters not only create a cozy ambiance for diners, they also create the necessary barriers to comply with city code.
We carefully chose planters and planter placement so as to leave appropriate space for an ADA-compliant sidewalk.
To work with Plant By Design’s talented team of designers and plant installation and maintenance experts, send us a message or give us a call.
