How does your company become the leader in designing and installing live and artificial plants in the largest cruise ships on the high seas? And then bring that flair for spectacular performance under adverse conditions ashore?

For company principals, Debra Smeltzer and Jim Ziesler, it began with backgrounds in oceanographic and botanical research at the University of Texas. In 1986, one year after Greensleeves opened, Smeltzer and Ziesler made an inspired presentation to design and install plants on the Windstar, a large five-star commercial sailboat.  They got the contract.

When that installation was complete and the ship was preparing for its maiden voyage, the French architect Marc Held, who designed the ship, praised Greensleeves’ problem-solving and plant installations as “nothing short of extraordinaire.”

Their at-sea know-how and passion for excellence continued to pay off.  They followed that success by winning the contract to work with a team of four European architects on over 4,000 square feet of plantings on a vessel under construction in St. Nazaire, France.  That ship, the Sovereign of the Sea, was to be the largest cruise ship ever built.

Debra Smeltzer and Jim Ziesler have maintained and fine-tuned Landscaping Extraordinaire in plant design, installation and maintenance for architects, designers, building owners and managers.  While continuing to work with cruise ship owners, they have won awards for their work in commercial buildings, condos, convention centers, hotels, law firms, residential properties and a wide range of other properties – both interior and exterior.

Greensleeves Inc. Miami, Florida, is locally owned and operated.  The company is often a member of its clients' teams both on ships and ashore.  Greensleeves’ performance has been recognized as outstanding in North and South America as well as ports-of-call in Europe.

Their passion for excellence continues as their list of distinguished clients grows.