When people think of gardens and of gardening, they usually imagine planting across a horizontal bed of soil, but in the twenty-first century when space is a valued commodity, vertical gardens are gaining in popularity. Living garden walls are essentially gardens that are planted across the vertical of a wall. They are very popular with hotel buildings when hotel owners want to create a unique statement with the exterior of their buildings, but homeowners can also create a vertical living garden on the outside of their homes.
The benefits of living garden walls
The major benefit of a living garden wall is that you don't need to have a garden to create one – you just need a wall. This means that people who thought that gardening was cut off from them can now enjoy this relaxing pastime.
Green foliage is known to improve the air quality in its immediate environment. If you don 't have a garden of your own, this could be a concern of yours, but a garden wall combats this problem, as you'll be creating fresher air for yourself, for your family, and for your neighbours.
A living garden wall could even protect your home. Brickwork can expand and contract, and cracks and fissures can occur with exposure to the natural elements, but the plants will deflect rain and stop harmful UV rays from getting to your building.
How to create your own living garden wall
The major step in creating a living garden wall is creating a frame that your plants can grow on, as they will need something to hook on to. If you are handy with DIY projects, you could attempt to create your own criss-crossed plastic trellis, or you could simply purchase a whole load of plant containers from a garden centre and attach all of these in various positions to the outside of your wall.
If your wall is very large and you are going for something very elaborate, you may need to invest in garden equipment such as a drip irrigation system that is attached to the wall and waters plants evenly. If not, just make sure you can easily water the plants from your windows or from ground level with a garden hose.
You can plant soil at the base of your wall so that planted vines can then grow up the trellis, or soil can be put into individual containers if you are opting for vines and a mixture of other plants. Then simply plant the vines, plants, and flowers you love the most and watch your living garden wall flourish.
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