Not got much space in your garden but want to grow more plants, or maybe you only have a courtyard and would like to grow more things? Vertical Gardening is a way around both of these problems.

Patrick Blanc is probably the most well know vertical gardener. Starting his career in 1994, Blanc has designed vertical gardens for many cities and public buildings and inspiration can be taken from his ideas for use in your own garden.

Plants often don’t actually need soil in order to grow well. Consider the garlic, onions or potatoes which you accidentally leave in your cupboard for a long period of time. These often sprout and grow even though there is no soil available. Soil is just a mechanism for support and the only essential things most plants required as light, carbon dioxide (for photosynthesis) and water (with the minerals dissolved in it).

Many plants grow well with little or no soil – consider cliff faces and trees. Many plants grow well vertically here therefore the same principles can be applied. And vertical gardens can be created indoors too as long as artificial lighting is used to help the plants grow.

The real key to a vertical garden is water. If the plants aren’t given enough water, they can do damage to the wall they are clinging onto. If a vertical garden has enough water, roots spread over the surface and won’t damage the structure below.

To create a vertical garden, some form of structure is required. Blanc uses a metal frame which is either hung or free-standing. This provides an air layer which helps insulate the system. PVC is then attached to the frame and this is then covered with a layer of felt which is what the plant roots cling to. Seeds, cutting or plants are then added to the felt to create the vertical garden.

By using a vertical garden like this along a wall of a building, the insulating properties of the vertical garden can actually help to cut energy consumption in the building – by keeping the building cool in summer and warm in winter. The wall will also help soak up rainfall and thus lessen surface run-off problems.

If you want to make a vertical garden cheaply, it is very easy to do so. An old bookcase provides the perfect structure for a vertical garden.

Lay the bookcase on it’s back.
Drill holes in each bookshelf to allow water to percolate through the whole bookcase
Fill the bookcase with compost (optional)
Attach a layer of weed suppressing fabric and/or felt to eh bookcase
If using felt, sow seeds direct or add cutting and plants to the felt.
If using weed suppressing fabric, cut holes for plants and plant them
Stand the bookcase up

And your vertical garden is complete!

As you can see from the instructions, there is no ‘right’ way to build a vertical garden and many different options and building materials can be used. You may want to build a small trough at the top of the bookcase so that you can fill it with water for the plants, and so it traps some rainwater. If the bookcase is set up against a wall, you may be able to attach a pipe from your guttering to the bookcase so that when it rains, your vertical bookcase gets watered nicely.

Here at GreenUpAndGo, we think vertical gardens are a perfect way to have a large herb garden in a tiny space.

Have you built a vertical garden, or do you have tips for budding vertical gardeners? Add your comments below!

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