Vertical gardening involves using structures to create garden rooms and define hidden spaces, it’s perfect for small-space urban gardeners, apartment dwellers, and disabled gardeners. In places with cold-winter climates, you can grow plants in vertical gardens to add humidity when the furnace dries the air out. Aside from the aesthetic appeal of a vertical garden, it also contributes to proper air circulation and supply of fresh oxygen on the air we breathe.
Office buildings and hotels are also incorporating vertical gardens or green walls indoors and outdoors that are considered as living walls.
Here are some tips to keep in mind in growing a vertical garden:
1. Creating the Right Space
Placement is crucial in vertical gardening because it determines the type and degree of sun exposure your plants need. While you can do vertical gardening indoors or outdoors, you need to determine the perfect spot to grow your favorite plants. For instance, if you want to plant succulents, you need to choose a space with half-exposure. Don’t position the vertical garden directly under full sun or full shade.
Here are some tips when choosing the right area:
- If you’re unsure of plants to grow, you can opt-in installing your vertical garden in your deck where you can choose to provide shade later on, if needed.
- After cleaning your deck, you can install a combination of DIY pallet or hardwood wall vertical garden with modular containers for your plants, so you can hand them outside during summer and hide them indoors when winter comes.
- You can build your DIY wall on any fence or solid wood, or on wood to create a custom wall that you can be moved around.
- You can build the walls indoors in any room you desire by simply screwing in rows of battens to fill the desired space.
Secure a Sturdy Vertical Garden Support Structure
You need a structurally sound wall, a sturdy shed, tuteurs, obelisks, arbors, trellises, or fence for your vertical garden structure. You can grow your upright garden plants easily by creating a sturdy structure with these helpful tips:
- You can screw in rows of 2 x 1-inch treated battens 38 centimeters apart to fill the space straightforwardly. Attach the planters to the battens with the use of an electric screwdriver. Work from the bottom up. Build up the wall in staggered rows.
- Consider using hanging baskets to break the horizontal plane of traditional gardening. Utilize wall hangers, hanging mechanisms, or shelving to give your individually-potted herbs a nice place to be that is out of the way.
- For an existing structure, such as a garage or shed, add a trellis for supporting their stems but without causing any damage to the wall (in front of one of the wall). Leave some space between the wall and the trellis for good air circulation.
- Anchor the vertical garden structure in place before you plant to avoid disturbing the stems or roots.
3. Selecting Vertical Garden Plants
There are different vertical garden plants you can use in a vertical plant garden. The traditional vertical planting involves annual flowering vines, easily grown perennials, and columnar plants, wherein you can apply more gardening tips that best suit your gardening style. You should determine light conditions when choosing a plant.
Here are some considerations in choosing vertical garden plants:
- Annual flowering vines. These plants such as black-eyed Susan vine, cypress vine, cardinal, moonflower, scarlet runner bean, and hyacinth bean that grow best in full sun.
- Easily grown perennial vines include American bittersweet, clematis hybrids, and ivy that grow best in full sun.
- For vertical shade gardening, the vines include hardy kiwi, chocolate vine, Dutchman’s pipe, and climbing hydrangea.
- Edibles perfect for vertical planting include kiwi, Siberian gooseberries, and other fruiting vines. Edible flowers include vining nasturtiums.
- You can also plant vertical garden vegetables like peas, tomatoes, squash, and pole beans.
- Columnar plants can be grown without any supporting structure (e.g., trees, junipers, or Lombardy poplars.
4. Watering Your Vertical Garden
The reservoir system of a vertical garden is designed to keep your plants watered up to two weeks. A vertical garden needs more maintenance than a container plant or regular in-the-ground garden because they have less soil. That’s why they may need to be frequently watered.
Here are some watering tips for a vertical wall garden:
- Water your vertical wall starting at the top with a garden hose.
- Drip irrigation is a good idea. You may allow holes in the bottom of pockets or planters to let water to drip down, and water other plants or you can invest in sophisticated garden hoses with timers.
- You can use a watering can but ensure even water distribution.
- For easy watering, attach a drip irrigation system or add a rope-and-pulley system for easier access to hanging baskets when tending your vertical garden or watering.5. Basic Vertical Gardening MaintenanceOn vertical garden, plants grow differently. Climbing roses should be physically attached to structures. Morning glories will loop around trellis openings because they are twinning. Different plants require unique care and maintenance. It’s essential to have basic knowledge of the following vertical gardening practices to ensure that your living wall will last for many years.
Here are some methods for vertical garden maintenance:
- Soilless potting medium spaces should be installed so you can grow other types of plants.
- Make sure that the wall can handle the weight or load capacity by checking with a structural expert.
- Maintenance is required like any other garden including weeding, pruning, dusting, and even plant replacement.
Conclusion
Green walls or vertical gardens are not just trendy in urban areas. They help supply healthier air to breathe. It is an excellent option if you live in a condo, apartment, or any place with limited space. Just make sure that the frame of your vertical garden is solid and sturdy so it lasts a long time.