Living spaces no longer need to be devoid of greenery. Vertical gardens, also known as living walls, allow homeowners to integrate nature into even the smallest of areas. These innovative installations can thrive on both interior and exterior surfaces, serving purposes such as providing a source of fresh produce, adding aesthetic appeal, or creating private retreats.
With their versatility, living walls can be used to revitalize urban landscapes, but they also prove effective in remote locations as long as they receive sufficient light and water.
What Is A Living Wall
Vertical gardens, also known as living walls, eco-walls, or green walls, have been a staple of science fiction for decades. In fact, Stanley Hart White patented the concept back in 1938. Today, these innovative spaces are not only a reality but also an accessible DIY project. For those looking to streamline their setup, pre-fabricated options like pocket panels, hanging grow bags, and wooden planting units are available online.
A living wall typically comprises connected vertical sections or boxes that suspend from the ceiling or stand independently. This design allows for maximum space efficiency, as they occupy minimal floor area. The style of these green walls can vary greatly, ranging from rows of planters to individual plant holders. One of the most appealing aspects of living walls is their built-in irrigation system, which simplifies watering tasks.
However, it’s also possible to opt out of this feature and water plants manually.
Why Should You Grow a Living Wall?
The benefits of living walls extend beyond their aesthetic appeal, offering a range of practical advantages for homeowners. One of the most significant is improved air quality. The chemicals present in building materials such as wood and carpeting can off-gas over time, releasing harmful VOCs and other pollutants into the air. However, plants have been shown to filter out some of these toxins, including carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and benzene.
This not only enhances indoor air quality but also creates a healthier living environment.
In addition to their air-purifying properties, plants are also effective at reducing noise levels. By naturally blocking high-frequency pitches, they can create a more peaceful atmosphere in the home. Studies have demonstrated that plant walls in the workplace can even boost employee morale and productivity.
Living walls also offer practical benefits such as providing shade and cooler temperatures around the home. This is particularly useful for outdoor living spaces like patios or decks, where a green wall can not only provide additional privacy but also help to regulate the temperature.
Furthermore, vertical growing spaces can be used to cultivate a range of edible plants, including tomatoes, strawberries, green beans, and Asian eggplants.
By utilizing these areas for gardening, homeowners can enjoy fresh produce without sacrificing valuable space.
What Do The Plants Need?
To successfully establish a thriving living wall, it’s essential to carefully consider the light, nutritional, and water requirements of your chosen plants. This step is crucial, as these factors will directly impact the time and effort needed to maintain your plant wall, ultimately affecting its overall success. When selecting plants for your wall, focus on species that are naturally low-maintenance and can thrive with minimal care.
Options like ferns, herbs, succulents, mosses, and low-growing ground covers tend to fit this bill. These plants not only require less attention but also bring unique textures, shapes, and colors to your wall. When making your selection, also consider the form, foliage color, and flowering habits of each plant. Are they edible or ornamental (or perhaps a combination of both)? This will help you create a visually appealing display that’s pleasing to the eye.
Additionally, look for compact plants that can easily fit into smaller spaces and are tolerant of regular pruning.
Best Plants
Succulents
When it comes to choosing plants for indoor spaces or warm outdoor climates, succulents are an excellent option. Not only do they thrive in confined areas, making them perfect for beginners, but they’re also relatively low-maintenance. When using succulents outdoors, be sure to check the recommended hardiness zone and take necessary precautions against frost damage.
Additionally, succulents tend to perform well in well-draining potting mixes that incorporate sand and vermiculite, allowing excess moisture to escape and promoting healthy root growth.
Hen and Chicks
These succulents showcase a unique combination of rosette-shaped leaves and tall, showy flower spikes. Echeveria, in particular, is a popular variety for its stunning appearance in vertical gardens. To add an artistic touch, you can arrange multiple Echeverias in geometric patterns. Keep in mind that the flowering stems can be invasive and require occasional pruning to maintain their shape. In contrast, Sempervivum succulents, also known as hen and chicks, are often found in rock gardens.
What sets them apart is their monocarpic nature – each parent plant (hen) dies after producing a flower and fruiting, only to be replaced by new rosettes (chicks).
Sedum
Among the many succulent families suitable for vertical gardens, sedums stand out as a fantastic choice. These plants have a natural tendency to spread rapidly, making them ideal for filling in any gaps or bare spots in your garden design. A bonus feature of sedums is their shallow root system, which reduces soil disturbance and makes them drought-tolerant. Furthermore, they require minimal fertilizer inputs, reducing the overall maintenance burden on you as a gardener.
Ferns
For optimal growth, ferns thrive in low-light, moist environments. When selecting varieties, consider compact options like Adiantum, Dryopteris, and Cyrtomium that can add a touch of subtlety to your space. The sword fern, in particular, has proven to be an excellent choice for green walls, where its delicate fronds create a visually appealing contrast with larger-leaved plants like pathos.
Other notable options include the blue star fern and bird’s nest fern, which offer unique textures and forms that can enhance the aesthetic of your space.
Herbs
Having a constant supply of fresh herbs while cooking can be incredibly convenient, especially when they’re growing right on your wall. Vertical gardening systems are ideal for indoor or outdoor spaces, and most herbs adapt well to these confined areas. However, some like mints and sages require regular pruning or harvesting to maintain their shape and growth.
Herbs such as thyme, sorrel, and lemon balm can thrive in lower light conditions, making them suitable for rooms with limited natural light. On the other hand, herbs like chives, basil, parsley, and sage need a bit more attention and may require supplemental plant lights if grown indoors. When it comes to soil, most herbs prefer a well-draining potting mix, and organic fertilizers such as fish emulsion can provide the necessary nutrients for healthy growth.
A single application in spring and summer is usually sufficient.
Vegetables
Growing a salad garden on your living wall is an exciting and rewarding experience. For those with indoor living walls, artificial grow lights are essential for providing the necessary light for lettuces, arugula, spinach, radishes, small carrots, baby beets, and mache to thrive. Leaf lettuces such as baby oakleaf, red sails, red salad bowl, and deer tongue are excellent options due to their shallow root systems, compact growth, and lack of pollination requirements.
Small cabbages like mini Caraflex., napa cabbages, and smaller Pak Choys can also be grown successfully. In contrast, vegetables growing indoors require more fertilization than those outdoors. A weak solution of organic fertilizer should be used to keep them healthy. For outdoor living walls, larger or cascading veggies like cherry tomatoes, Asian cucumbers, green beans, and peas can be added. Fruits such as strawberries and blueberries also do well in this environment.
While these fruits and veggies typically require pollination outdoors, they can still be grown indoors by utilizing grow lights or a sunroom and hand pollinating. This allows you to enjoy a bountiful harvest from the comfort of your own home.
Flowers
While flowers are undoubtedly the stars of your living wall, there’s another unsung hero worth mentioning – foliage plants like pothos. These versatile plants thrive in compact spaces and can form a stunning display when allowed to cascade down the wall. Pairing them with colorful blooms like pansies or coral bells adds an extra layer of visual interest. For optimal results, consider combining low-light tolerant flowers like begonias and vincas with your foliage choice.
Meanwhile, bright light-lovers like petunias and nasturtiums will do well on their own or alongside impatiens in a compact quarters setting.
Mix and Match
When it comes to living walls, think of them as a blank slate waiting for your creative touch. Feel free to combine your favorite herbs, veggies, and flowers in unique arrangements – the possibilities are endless!
One of the greatest advantages of living walls is that you can create distinct zones for different plants, allowing for tailored soil and fertilizer applications.
This means you can place high-light requirements plants directly under grow lights while keeping low-light plants on the periphery.
Alternatively, you can group plants with similar needs together, such as placing nutrient-hungry plants next to those that require less fertilizer. The beauty of living walls is that you can successfully coexist plants with vastly different needs in a single space – a luxury not typically afforded in traditional gardens.
Great DIY Project
Vertical plant walls are a fantastic DIY endeavor, offering a surprisingly straightforward build process. Typically, they consist of a box-like structure featuring shelves to support the plants and strategically placed holes for irrigation tubing. If you’re eager to tackle an exciting DIY project, this video from Home Depot provides a comprehensive guide on building a vertical living wall that can be hung indoors or outdoors.
The Perfect Place for a Living Wall
While a living wall can thrive anywhere, some locations prove more ideal than others. Consideration should be given to factors such as natural light, air circulation, and proximity to water sources when selecting the ultimate spot for your green oasis.
Bathroom Wall
Transforming your bathroom into a serene oasis is just a few plants away! By incorporating a living wall, you can recreate the ambiance of a luxurious spa within the comfort of your own home. The ideal choice for this installation are mosses that thrive in humid environments, such as bathrooms, allowing you to create a dramatic yet cozy atmosphere that invites relaxation and tranquility.
Accent
Incorporating vertical walls into your home’s transition spaces can create visual interest without sacrificing valuable floor area. A living wall, for instance, can be a striking accent in a hallway, making it feel more dynamic and inviting. Alternatively, it can transform a set of stairs into a captivating feature that draws the eye upwards.
Privacy Fencing
Transforming your space with plant walls is not just about aesthetics; it’s also about functionality. By incorporating these lush barriers into your design, you can create a sense of seclusion and intimacy within your home. Consider placing them strategically in front of your living areas or around outdoor kitchens to establish a cozy atmosphere, free from prying eyes.
Meditation or Yoga Area
A serene oasis within your own space can be a game-changer for mental clarity and rejuvenation. Consider transforming a quiet corner into a calming retreat, where nature’s soothing presence can be felt through a living wall. This unique feature not only brings the outdoors in but also fosters a sense of harmony, allowing you to unwind and refocus.
Kitchen
As the winter months roll around, our outdoor spaces can seem like a distant memory. However, this doesn’t mean we have to abandon the idea of enjoying fresh flavors and aromas altogether. One creative solution is to bring the garden indoors by incorporating edible plants into your living wall. The possibilities are endless, with a wide variety of herbs and greens that thrive in these types of environments.
Imagine being able to step inside and pluck a few leaves for tonight’s salad while the cold winter air swirls outside – it’s an experience that combines coziness with culinary delight.
Living Walls Let You Garden in the Smallest Spaces
Elevate your indoor gardening experience by embracing the concept of living walls. This innovative approach enables you to transcend traditional spatial constraints, seamlessly merging the outdoors with the indoors. By incorporating lush greenery and vibrant blooms into your home, you can create a truly unique space that not only beautifies your surroundings but also fosters a connection with nature.
