Vertical Gardens & Living Wall - Greening Up the City!

What were the hanging gardens of Babylon really like? As one of the "Seven Great Wonders of the Ancient World," they must have been pretty spectacular. They couldn't have gotten by with a row of marigolds in cheap window-box planters purchased at the local five-and-dime, for instance.


Those Babylonian gardeners must have thought big. Really big. After all, it was something so rare and wonderful that we're still talking about it today.


Urban gardeners such as myself are inspired to re-create those hanging gardens through the emergence of recent technologies which allow us to create gardens to cover a vertical surface, such as an ugly brick or concrete wall on the side of a building, with lush garden plantings that can reach as tall as a 4-story building and any width desired. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Vertical gardens can also be made small enough to fit indoors on a wall of your house - just think of it as a living painting!


The potential for beautifying city structures using vertical gardens is enormous. Just imagine seeing gardens sprouting up everywhere on your next walk through the city. The best part is they take up only about a foot of horizontal space, so they work really well with the idea of space conservation in a city environment.


Although the idea of a Vertical garden, also known as vertical gardens, has been around at least since the time of the Babylonians, it is an idea that hasn't really taken off in modern times. That is, until now. With space becoming an increasingly valuable commodity in urban centers like New York, it may well be the only practical future for gardening in cities (along with green roofs).
As well as providing an unusually beautiful living canvas for spectators to admire, the vertical garden serves two other important functions for city living: it purifies the air of pollutants and it also absorbs the background noise of the city. If you have ever taken a walk in Central Park, you might have been amazed to notice that the sounds of the city start to recede and eventually disappear altogether the further into the park you venture. Visitors may feel transported to such a place of tranquility that they have to look up to see the rooftops of nearby buildings as a reminder that they are even in a city at all. A similar sense of being transported is created by the presence of a vertical garden.


More information about celebrated New York City landscape designer Amber Freda, including photos of the urban paradises she creates, can be found on her website, http://www.amberfreda.com
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Steel Buildings and the Advantages of Vertical Gardens

This can be great for the wall of your steel building. Here are some advantages to vertical gardens:


Vertical gardens can be designed to slowly use up the storm-water that has landed on the roof or other hard surfaces of a steel building site as its main source of water. As plants in a soil-less design definitely need a relatively constant supply of water, this will probably need to be replenished in hot and dry temperatures. Use of a cistern that slowly drains down into the pockets that the plants are growing out of would work well. Some cleansing is provided by the plants and soils, and some by the bacteria that eventually inhabits the growing pockets and root surfaces.


Vertical gardens trap many airborne pollutants and particulates on the plant surfaces. And, plants use up Carbon Dioxide. A four story high vertical garden inside the Bell Canada's Creekbank facility in Toronto is not only beautiful but is designed to remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Carbon Dioxide from the indoor air. There are many companies that market such 'bio-wall' as designed for such bio-filtration.


Vertical gardens also make excellent use of vertical space within cities, providing microhabitat, aesthetic benefits, and air cleansing where none would have typically existed before. The high ratio of wall to roof area in urban spaces means the potential to generate positive environmental changes via green walls versus green roofs is also much higher.


The circulating water in a vertical garden evaporates less than in a horizontal garden so can work well in drier climates. They can also add thermal mass to steel buildings and their processes help moderate indoor and outdoor building temperature. They provide shade and an insulating dead air space on the surface of the building wall. Vegetation lowers adjacent air temperatures by evaporating enormous amounts of water from leaf surfaces. One Canadian study found the reduction of summer cooling load by vertical gardens was even more dramatic than for green roofs. The same study showed that significant reductions in the urban heat island effect could be attained if vertical garden technology was used extensively.


The engineered soil-less systems (PVC layer, felt & metal frame for example) can weigh less than 30 kg/m2 - this despite being constantly wet, so are considered fairly light-weight for adding on to existing walls. They can easily meet the habitat requirements of small wildlife species, such as birds and insects; or fish and small pond life if that is incorporated into the design.


Most vertical gardens are designed for artistic effect and to enhance livability by providing calming greenery in very urban spaces. Check out these dramatic large-scale examples in Europe, Asia and the US that were designed by botanists. Green walls can help reduce sound transmission into buildings due to the layer of plants, growing medium and, depending upon the design, the dead air space between the living and conventional walls. While it is hard to find an example of a vertical garden designed for food growing, some proponents suggest home made versions for greenhouse walls and vegetable gardens.


Jon Smithinson,
Write informative researched articles on greener technologies for steel buildings
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Watering System for Your Vertical Garden

In making the design of your vertical garden, you have two options for watering system you will use on vertical garden, which are:

You can use a pump that is placed on a water reservoir under your vertical garden. Vertical garden will be watered when the pump pushes the water up for each plants and the remaining excess water from each plant will come out from the bottom of the plant.

You also can use a wick watered model, which is the most simple and easy watering system to make watering system less frequent to do. Wick watered works when water flows naturally through the soil media or cotton cloth. You need to place small water reservoir above your vertical garden, fill it, then you can let the wick watered to run on its own.

Of course, there will be different watering systems for indoor or outdoor. If you have vertical garden in the room, you certainly would not want a hole in the bottom of each plant in your vertical garden. Your room will be full with water when the water you use for watering was excessive. So how do we design our Vertical garden‘s watering system in indoor condition?

Firstly, you do not make a hole in the bottom of your vertical garden’s plant at all, meaning that your watering should be sufficient and there is no excess water. However, this method can be deadly if you plant too much in doing the watering. The second way is, you still use a hole in the bottom of your Vertical garden’s plants, and only use a bit of reservoir setup. Make sure the water running just a bit and fairly dripping from the hole under your plants.

Easy Way to Create Vertical Garden

Building a vertical garden is not just a dream, especially now that more and more cropping alternative media. Stay adjusted only with the budget.

What do you imagine in the manufacture of vertical garden? Construction difficulties and its watering system? So, how to plant and what planting medium should be used? Provided all that plants needs, then the plants will grow optimally.

Maybe we ever amazed by hydroponic cultivation system, in which plants can grow in very fertile soil without the use of the media at all.

The secret, plant nutrients (fertilizer) is supplied with over watering plants. Plant roots embedded in various types of growing media used.

Actual planting of the vertical garden system was identical to the hydroponic system. All plants need nutrients supplied through the watering of plants. Various materials can be used as a medium for extra grip and prop roots of the plant body.

Alternative Growing Media

Following growing media we can use to vertical garden:

Rope fibers;

We often see orchids or bromeliads planted in a tree trunk with a stick on a rope-wrapped fibers are wrapped around a tree trunk.

Actually, besides the two types of plants, there are still some types of plants that can be grown using media rope fibers. We can use plastic gutter pipe diameter of 3 inches or more are entwined with rope fibers form a vertical garden.

The types of plants that can be used include kadaka, various types of ferns, begonias, and various types of philodendron. The price is quite affordable.

Rockwoll;
Rockwoll is a sheet-shaped material with a thickness of about 7 cm. This material is commonly used for hydroponics or wall covering media for sound dampening.

This planting medium is highly absorbing water, so that plant roots will be very easy to grow and absorb water from the media. But the media has also become very heavy when it absorbs water. Therefore, for use in a vertical plane that is wide enough needed a very strong construction. The price in the market is about USD 75 /m2.

Vertical Garden Module (LWM)

VGM (Vertical Garden Module) shaped like a plastic baskets hold the planting medium. This module is very practical and durable for use in long periods of time (10 years). Because the shape of the module we can easily removed and replaced with other plants if it is bored.

This module is very heavy so it is less practical for use at high vertical garden. Its cubical shape also make vertical garden looks rigid.

Carpet & Textile
The use of textile or geotextile to the media vertical garden has been widely implemented. Yes, this is an alternative to vertical garden planting medium which are quite good, and even we can use our car carpet material.

Top 7 Vertical Garden Ideas

Are you confused of looking for ideas to start a Vertical garden?

I chose the best 7 Vertical garden ideas that I found on the internet, hopefully this vertical garden ideas help you to find your own concept.

Vertical garden above is very interesting for me because it only requires a small space and portable, so it can be placed anywhere on the wall of the house. How do you think?

If I have a room large enough, vertical garden above will definitely be my first choice. Vertical garden above help to create the impression of a green and fresh room, and a prove that Vertical garden does not have to involve a lot of plants, one plant is enough, the most important is the concept of the idea that you want to apply

Things that attracted to my attention from this vertical garden is the concept of variation of plants used. the result is quite fresh and very interesting to see

Need a room divider? You can make vertical garden like this. very interesting and easy to apply

Vertical garden was not only must cover the entire section, in the picture above, it combines the beauty of the plant with wood design, portable and can be located anywhere within or outside your home

Very interesting and beautiful, the picture above is one way to make Vertical garden on the outside wall of your house. Of course you can also create vertical garden inside your house, but you should think carefully how to flush the plant without soiling your house

easy and very interesting, you can make vertical garden above without much difficulty, and can be positioned anywhere within the room to reinforce the beauty of your house

Tips on Vertical Gardening

Do you have the desire to be able to grow fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants in your home? But gave up your dream because you live in city apartment or have only a few square feet of space? Do not worry, you still can realize that dream by vertical garden;

Vertical garden is the latest in gardening concept popularized by Patrick Blanc. In vertical garden, you need only a vertical structure of the walls of your home whether it is indoor or outdoor, or a vertical structure that you created yourself, can be affixed to the wall or stand alone.

To start vertical garden, first you need to prepare is the concept of plant you want to plant, choose fruits and vegetables you want. Then you need to find out what is suitable planting medium for the plants, of course, you must ensure that your plant selection according to the season where you live.

Secondly, you have to explore different ideas and designs on vertical garden. You do not need to worry because vertical garden is very easy to apply. However, because vertical garden is an unconventional method of gardening, then you need to prepare a sufficient insight about vertical garden. One of the most fundamental in the design of vertical garden is the watering system. You can read more about the watering system in this article. Some design examples of vertical garden for your inspiration, can be found here.

It is important to remember, that in gardening, patience is the most basic. If you are diligent and patient, I am sure you will be surprised with the results of your own work.

Why Vertical Garden?

There are many advantages that you will get by doing Vertical Garden. especially for those of you who have narrow land to make gardens, of course Vertical Garden is the solution for you, but by no means Vertical Garden is not suitable for those of you who have extra space on your house.

The following are some advantages of Vertical Garden:

1.       can be placed in the room of your house, so it will enhance the beautiful, green, and fresh in the house. Vertical Garden can be made in the walls of houses in large or small size, so there's no reason for you not to make Vertical Garden

2.       Vertical Garden can be applied to a narrow field, to highlight specific areas of your house, both inside and outside of your house. for a large room, you can cover the entire wall with Vertical Garden, or even can sort on the part of the wall to accentuate specific design ideas

3.       of course you can grow vegetables or herbs in your Vertical Garden. this is of course very helpful to improve the quality of your healthy life.

4.       Vertical Garden helps reduce air pollution and noise pollution. You will be surprised to find a room that uses the Vertical Garden will be fresher, because a lot of dust particles filtered by Vertical Garden.

5.       in the morning until late afternoon, the room will be fresher because of increased oxygen supply by your Vertical Garden

6.       and most importantly, Vertical Garden will make your home into an exotic. do not be surprised if you and your spouse become more comfortable staying at home

If you are new to Vertical Garden, I suggest you to first read this article first: Vertical Garden: Introduction.

To find more ideas about creating Vertical Garden, you can see my top seven ideas about Vertical Garden here: