Patrick Blanc has done some incredible work combining botany with architecture, utilizing his knowledge of plants to create natural and self maintaining vertical gardens.

From Wiki:
Patrick Blanc born 1954, residing in Créteil, France is a French botanist who made his name with the plant wall, is an unusual mix of scientist and artist. His vertical wall of low light foliage plants thrive on a soiless durable frame of metal, PVC and nonbiodegradable felt.

He studied at Pierre & Marie Curie University in Paris and traveled to Malaysia and Thailand for the first time in 1972 to observe how plants managed to grow on rocks or in forest underbrush. He has been a researcher with the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris since 1982. A fixture in the French media, he has also published a handful of books for a general audience about his work.

Works
* Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, in Paris 1997.
* Pershing Hall hotel, courtyard, in Paris in 2001.
* Marithé & François Girbaud boutique in Manhattan.
* Siam Paragon shopping center in Bangkok.
* 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan.
* Quai Branly Museum in Paris, 2006.
* BVH, outside wall of a Paris department store.