As concrete landscapes continue to expand all over the world, more and more people are waking up to the importance of greenery. But with most urban homes shrinking in size, maintaining, let alone owning, a home garden is a tedious and often impossible task. However, gardening aficionados have found a way around this conundrum – vertical gardens!
The concept of a vertical garden is slowly gaining popularity world over, particularly among plant lovers. Vertical gardens offer an eco-friendly option for people who don’t have a lot of horizontal space but still want to turn their home from drab to fab. From ornamental plants to edible ones, the options for your vertical gardens are endless. Here’s how smartly designed and compact wall gardens can accentuate your home’s décor.
How to begin
The first thing you need to figure out is where you want your vertical garden. This could be an empty wall, a balcony, etc. What you need to look for is that the area receives plenty of natural light. You can also create a free-standing vertical garden wall that can be used as a movable partition. This will help you break the monotony of any room in your home by changing its position every now and then.
What you will need
While many interior and landscape designers will offer you attractive solutions, making your own vertical garden is a fun DIY home project. Nearly any vertical surface in your home can be converted into a vertical garden – think walls, pillars, posts, pipes, trellises, etc. Several everyday household items can be used for your plants including old plastic bottles, metal cans, containers, old boots, etc. All these articles can be used to create a highly aesthetic and unique vertical garden.
If you’re thinking of creating a mobile vertical garden, make sure you use lightweight materials that will be easy to move around or can be repositioned to capture the sun.
What can you grow
The kind of plants you wish to grow as part of your vertical garden depends on the amount of sun exposure your home receives. If your vertical garden is indoors, it makes sense to use shade-loving plants like succulents or ornamental shrubs like bonsai and Purple Heart. An outdoor vertical garden would do well with sun-loving plants, especially flowering plants like begonia, wedding vine, peace lilies, etc. If you’re inspired to create your own kitchen garden or even a balcony garden, opt for semi-shade plants. These include several edible plants and vegetables like asparagus, micro-greens, etc
The most important thing to remember is that since your garden will be vertical, you will need to make use of plants that have shallow roots. You also need to be careful with their placement as some plants could prevent the ones below them from receiving sunlight.
A good nursery or horticulturist can guide you to buy the right plants depending on your location and the kind of vertical garden you wish to create.
Planting and maintenance
Before starting your planting, begin by filling your potting container with good quality organic soil and coco peat. Coco is a natural fibre made out of coconut husk and is a 100% natural growing medium. Depending on its size, it can store several litres of water for months.
Once the base of your potting container is set, you can begin planting. It is advisable to plant through propagation; however, you can use seeds if you’d prefer. When it comes to watering your plants, the easiest way is setting up a drip irrigation system. This way, all you need to do is turn on a tap, and all of your plants will be watered. Alternatively, you can use a garden hose for your outdoor vertical garden and a spray bottle for an indoor one. To make sure your plants thrive, add organic manure either in liquid or solid form regularly while watering them.
Quick tips
- When irrigating your plants, water the indoor ones during the day. The outdoor ones can be watered at any time of the day.
- Remember to manure your plants at least every three months.
- Ensure you have a proper drainage system in place to prevent waterlogging and conserve water in the long run.
- Prune your plants periodically so that they don’t become too heavy for their containers.
There are several ways to beautify a compact space be it residential or commercial and vertical gardens are indeed one of them. They are a great way to instantly add zing to your décor as well as make your home more eco-friendly. Head over to Lancor to find the perfect home and unleash your creativity! Visit our website for more information.