6 Verdant and Wonderful Ideas for Vertical Gardens
Vertical gardens are a fantastic, artistic and intelligent way to grow your favorite herbs, veggies and flowers in small spaces or urban scapes. Check out our 6 favorite ideas for verdant vertical gardens to inspire a late spring project in your courtyard, alleyway, backyard or even indoors!
1. Metal Tree Vertical Garden
We absolutely love this idea! A two dimensional metal tree with limbs that have been turned into planter pot holders is such a creative and efficient way to grow a vertical garden. To achieve this on your own wall, you could retrofit a metal decoration, or weld pieces of metaltogether to create sturdy support for the pots. The color contrast of a bright wall makes this look even cooler.
2. Recycled Rain Gutter Vertical Garden
Use found objects, such as rain gutters, to create a sustainable and low cost vertical garden. Remember to drill holes for drainage and form a water catchment system at the bottom if you are setting this up indoors. Plant with herbs and flowers that require a shallow root system, or cascading vines for a waterfall effect.
3. Pocket Vertical Garden
This is a simple and rustic way to build a vertical garden and add some greenery to your outdoor shed or wall. Made from breathable and natural fiber, these pockets are perfect for annual flowers, small vegetable plants and trailing grasses or vines. You can make your own out of old coffee burlap sacks or buy them from woollypocket.com.
4. Chalkboard Vertical Garden
This living wall can take residence in or outside your house, and is perfect for herbs or other low maintenance plants. Easy to use and maintain, this free-standing chalkboard contains cells that can be filled with plants of your choice and watered through an irrigation system that includes a collector tray for runoff liquid. Get one from Williams Sonoma.
5. Recycled Plastic Bottle Vertical Garden
This is one of the most amazing ways to recycle old plastic bottles! Perfect for a courtyard or alleyway as seen in the picture above, these plastic planters can also make their way indoors to a building entryway or inside your apartment. The bottles above are all suspended from lines attached to pegs at the top of the wall, and filled with lettuce and herbs.
6. Wooden Step Garden
This is essentially a compact raised bed that has been layered to maximize space use and number of plants to grow. Perfect for annual veggies and even larger plants like summer squash, this is the perfect solution for green thumbs with a small back yard. Make your own by building simple frames, layering them and filling them with soil ready for planting.
Related on Organic Authority
Hanging Gardens: Grow Food or Flowers in Minimal Space
Grow It Vertical! DIY Wood Pallet Garden
Gardening in The Gutter, Literally
Images: buzzfeed, Country Living, Williams Sonoma, greenupgrader, webecoist
