Vertical garden: plants at lofty heights

In the cities of the future, green facades are an integral part. However, vertical gardening can also take place in your own home.

For some years now, vertical gardening - or “vertical gardening”, which is often used in English - has received more and more attention. Instead of looking for the necessary space for gardening in a flat area, the cultivation of the plants is moved upwards. A wide variety of constructions go steeply into the air and offer the possibility of growing plants on several floors. A distinction is made between two main forms of vertical gardening:

• Vertical gardening as a facade greening or as a wall garden in the interior
• Vertical gardening for growing vegetables in a limited space, for example on the balcony

Vertical garden - wall garden for a better quality of life

Regardless of whether it is a modern skyscraper, the facade of an old building or the interior of an open-plan office - more and more vertical gardens or facade greening are finding their way into our living space. The vertical use of plants as building elements is the hobbyhorse of many future-oriented architects. In the models of modern future cities, green towers protruding from the cityscape are an integral part. They should improve the feeling of life in the increasingly narrow urban space and also ensure that the polluted city air is purified.

Now you could just let an ivy or wine climb up the wall and the greening of the facade would be done. Yet the innovation of vertical gardening on homes is that constructions are created by the plants in the air can live on their own roots without having to climb the wall from the very bottom have to. Devices that provide space for substrate in which the plants of the vertical garden can spread their roots are the basis of this sensational cultivation method. The watering of the high altitude plants can also be done by hydroponic systems. No organic substrates such as peat-based substrates are used, the plants are simply supplied with special nutrient solutions. Regardless of which substructure is selected for the vertical garden in the interior or on exterior facades - the wall garden is always costly.

Vertical garden - build it yourself for the balcony

“DIY - Do it yourself” is just as trendy as vertical gardens, for example for your own balcony. And the towering structures can easily be built by yourself in order to grow ornamental flowers and crisp fresh vegetables in a small space. Having your own vertical garden has a number of advantages:

• Effective use of very limited cultivation areas
• Cultivation (also of vegetables) possible in a very limited space
• Possibility of greening the urban space
• Decorative and loosening eye-catcher

There are of course a wide variety of options for designing a vertical garden and building it yourself. The integration of an irrigation system into the vertical garden should also be considered. Because depending on the system, the watering is difficult to administer to the needy plants.

Possible constructions for a vertical DIY garden

• Wall garden with substrate
• Wall garden with hydroponic system for supply
• Vertical garden made from pallet
• Column construction with pipes from the hardware store

If a large wall area is available for vertical gardening, it is advisable to create a wall garden. However, this means intensive care and a sophisticated irrigation system is required to optimally supply the plants. If there is less space available, one can easily come back to the constructions made of pallets or pipes. These are also easier to install.

Vertical garden made from pallet or pipes

The use of pallets as a living element is absolutely trendy. And this all-rounder piece of furniture can also be used perfectly as a vertical garden.

A pallet becomes a vertical garden

Here's a quick guide on how to turn a pallet into a vertical garden for the balcony or patio:

• Set up the pallet upright so that the boards on the top are across.
• Staple burlap from the inside to the boards on the top.
• Staple the pond liner from behind, below and both short sides. The top of the pallet remains open to fill in soil.
• Fill in suitable substrate for the crops to be grown. Since the substrate should not be constantly exchanged, it is advisable to start with a rather nutrient-rich substrate like ours Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil to use.
• Cut small slits in the linen from the front of the pallet. These should be just big enough for the plant's root ball to fit through and be set into the substrate inside the pallet.
• The water supply can be made either through the upper open side of the pallet or directly at the root through the small slots in the linen.

Pipes from the hardware store become a vertical garden

The garden shown above from a palette looks trendy and makes optimal use of the limited space. The disadvantage, however, is that the wooden pallet is in direct contact with the permanently moist substrate - just like the linen that holds the substrate in the body of the pallet. So this construction is not forever and has to be replaced as soon as the ravages of time have gnawed at it too much. Alternatively, you can create a vertical garden for the balcony from weather- and water-resistant pipes from the hardware store. These constructions are reminiscent of Mediterranean herb pots for balconies and patios. You can find out how to do this here:

• Get plastic water / sewage pipes at the hardware store.
• Diameter of 110 mm is optimal, lengths of 0.5 m to 2 m well suited for a vertical garden. However, the longer the vertical garden is built here, the more complicated it can get with irrigation.
• Use a saw drill to drill holes 3 to 4 cm in diameter in the pipes. These will later represent the planting holes - so choose the distance accordingly. From the point of view of irrigation, it is clever to put more holes in the upper part than in the lower part of the pipe.
• If the dosage is skilful when watering the plants, an end cap can simply be attached to the lower end of the pipe. Otherwise a drain can be installed.
• The substrate can be filled in and the plants used.
• The longer the vertical pipe garden, the easier it is for it to tip over. Therefore it should be fixed in a suitable place.

Regardless of the shape of the vertical garden you choose - you always have one Eye-catcher and more opportunity created, even with limited space, not to do without plants have to.

You can find more inspiration on the topic of "vertical gardens" on our Pinterest page: