Vertical gardening allows gardeners to quickly cultivate herbs, fruit and vegetables in limited space while making watering, picking and spraying easier.
Dependent upon the method chosen to construct a green wall, materials may include metal framing and felt layers that act as both support systems and stores water for plant growth and absorption of nutrients by their roots.
Gardening in a Small Space
Vertical gardens have gained immense popularity as an efficient means to utilize tight spaces. This form of gardening uses trellises and hanging baskets to cultivate flowers and vegetables in tight areas. Many plants possess tendrils which grow up supports such as trellises – you can either purchase one premade from wood, plastic, wire, and string or make your own using wood, plastic wire and string materials. Leafy crops such as pole beans, sweet peas, zucchini melons and squash thrive when grown on these trellises!
Trellis can be attached directly to walls or fences or left freestanding to lean against other structures, while you could also utilize ladders, shelves or A-frames as supports for your vertical garden.
Hanger planters offer an easy way to transform a balcony into an aesthetically pleasing green space. Strawberry, cherry tomato and herb plants grow beautifully when suspended from a hanging basket while certain species such as bush beans or basil thrive when allowed to “tumble down” from such containers.
Aesthetics
Vertical gardens add an eye-catching and beautiful element to any garden, be they vegetables or flowers. Hanging baskets, trellises and planter boxes can all be secured to walls, fences and pillars so as to grow herbs, vegetables or flowers vertically. You could even upcycle ladders into quirky planters using felt pockets attached to walls!
Bosco Verticale in Milan and Singapore’s Sky City are examples of beautiful green wall designs that can be integrated into contemporary buildings to create green walls that not only look amazing, but help filter air, reduce noise pollution, and foster biodiversity. These skyscrapers not only look fantastic; their innovative and sustainable architecture also filter air pollution while filtering noise pollution and supporting biodiversity.
Additionally, vertical gardens can help cool buildings during the heat of summer and save energy through “plant sweat.” Vegetation in urban areas helps disperse sound waves produced by cars and factories while absorbing some of their heat production. Furthermore, plants grown vertically tend to produce prettier fruit due to gravity drawing them down more readily.
Privacy
Urban environments benefit greatly from vertical gardening as a means to add privacy. Vertical plants can disguise unsightly air conditioners, sheds or any other unpleasant garden structures from view while blocking out an unattractive street view.
Screened entrances or walkways offer an attractive way to frame them, creating privacy in outdoor spaces such as patios and balconies. Furthermore, these screens can help obscure views that are less-than-desirable such as neighbouring homes, office buildings or factories that may otherwise block any potential views that would otherwise exist.
Green walls are also easier to maintain than conventional gardens, providing shelter from harsh weather conditions and providing greater resistance against diseases and pests that spread between soil-grown plants. Gardening vertically also allows you to focus more closely on maintaining plant health while improving appearance.
Health
Vertical gardens offer more than aesthetic benefits; they can also offer healthier growing conditions for flowers, vegetables, herbs and other plants. Without soil contact to worry about, plants are less vulnerable to soilborne fungus and diseases; plus it acts as an effective barrier against rodents or birds that might damage or consume their surroundings.
Shelves and racks can be used to support hanging baskets, potted plants or trellis-like structures that hold vines such as ivy or clematis hybrids, along with pouch-like planting systems that grow perennials, annuals and herbs in sunny walls. Planters may also be attached to walls or displayed on porches and decks while trailing plant hangers provide the perfect showcase.
Exterior vertical gardens provide thermal insulation, moisture control and pollution absorption through evapotranspiration. Furthermore, these green additions to buildings add visual appeal while sending an ecological message directly to potential customers. Businesses using such gardens as decorations for their premises could especially benefit from using them to decorate them.