Gardens get vertical

Going up …

Blanc’s gardens defy most gardening truisms. His gardens grow vertically and without dirt. Plants are rooted in a layer of felt that is stapled to a waterproof PVC plastic sheet. The felt and the PVC sheets are attached to a metal frame that hangs on a wall or stands on its own.

In this garden in Majorca, Spain, a drip-irrigation system atop the frame waters plants automatically. Water is supplemented with fertilizer, drips down the wall and collects at the bottom of the vertical garden. A pump recirculates water to the top of the frame.

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Modular gardening

For homeowners seeking vertical gardens of any size, kits and modular systems are available that make installation simple.

Canadian company ELT EasyGreen, for example, installs plants in angled plastic trays that are mounted directly on a wall or in a frame. Instead of felt, plants are rooted in dirt or another growth medium.

Each panel is 12 inches by 12 inches and can be used on its own or with a few other panels, as in this outdoor kitchen.

ELT's do-it-yourself kit costs $69.

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Choosing the right plants

Plant selection depends on your location, but people have used bromeliads, hoyas, ferns and dwarf spider plants. Succulents can be a good choice for living walls because they require little maintenance and can create a textured design, as in this wall.

Maintenance includes watering (supplemented with fertilizer) and trimming the plants. Watering frequency depends on the garden's size, sun exposure, location and design. Large exterior gardens will need more water than small ones inside.

Like many houseplants, living walls shed leaves if the plants start to die.

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Meditation in green

For this house in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., GSky Plant Systems designed and installed a lush tropical wall with embedded Buddhist and Hindu statues for a homeowner who wanted a piece of tropical Asia in her home.

The 272-square-foot wall includes philodendrons, ferns, orchids and dwarf spider plants, among others.

GSky and other high-end vertical-garden-makers offer a maintenance package for busy homeowners.

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Luxury garden

Vertical gardens can take nearly any shape, and GSky’s green walls in this Indian Creek, Fla., home are a great example.

The courtyard's green walls include more than 17,000 tropical plants. The 1,475-square-foot living garden is designed to keep walkways clear of overgrown vegetation and maintain spacious views inside and out.

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Do it yourself

For homeowners who want to move their gardens around, Woolly Pockets may be the best solution. Made of breathable felt with a moisture barrier, each pocket is attached to a wall with screws and fasteners. You fill it with soil and plants. Each pocket costs $36 to $41.

Like other modular systems, each Woolly Pocket can be used individually or with others to create a wall of plants, such as this one in the kitchen of a Los Angeles home. It cost $156.

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Poolside pocket garden

Plants that would do well in a container usually do well in a Woolly Pocket, such as this one near the pool of another Los Angeles home. But wannabe gardeners should check with local nurseries to select the best plants for their climate and the sun exposure in their location.

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Lush entrance

Tired of staring at a white wall outside her kitchen and dining room, Amelia B. Lima, a San Diego landscape designer, decided she wanted more.

Using Blanc's living walls as inspiration, she transformed a 40-foot wall into one full of plants. For her wall, she chose plants like bromeliads, elephant ears and ferns that work well in Southern California.

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The green wall

Lima's wall required a little construction work and some help from friends. First, Lima installed a long metal frame along her wall and bolted marine plywood and plastic sheeting onto the frame to support the plants and keep water off the wall.

Two layers of felt were stapled to the plastic, and holes were cut into the felt for the plants. An automatic drip-irrigation system provides water.

The cost was about $17,000.

CORRECTION: Gardens get vertical
June 30, 2011: The living wall in Amelia B. Lima’s home cost about $17,000. The article originally included an incorrect cost figure.

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Slide show:  Residential gardens reach new heights