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What is vertical
gardening?
Vertical gardening
simply means exploiting the potential of the vertical plane to grow
plants, (something trees
do naturally) instead of just the horizontal plane, which is the
traditionally ground of the garden.
Think of the mythical Hanging Gardens of Babylon,
verdant & graced with
luscious vines, and cascading foliage, espaliered fruit trees.
In practice, vertical
gardening involves using fences, walls, pergolas, arches &
trellises to
support climbing & hanging
plants.
Not only are vertical
garden elements attractive, they bring plants parts within easy reach.
Vertical structures
(stakes, trellises) can be easily inserted into ground level & raised
garden
beds, as well as planter
boxes, containers & window boxes.
Hanging baskets can be
suspended from pergolas and house eaves at desirable heights. A
pulley system can be devised
to raise & lower baskets as needed.
The plants for vertical
greening of your garden can be natural climbers (e.g. Pandorea), or
those amenable to be trained
to a trellis (e.g. Sweet Peas), or stakes (e.g. Tomatoes). Some
plants are suitable for being
espaliered against a wall or trellis (e.g. Camellias, Fruit trees).
Plants with a trailing
growth habit (e.g. Convolvulus) can be planted along the edges of
raised beds or planter
boxes & allowed to cascade to the ground giving a wall of living
colour.
While a main advantage
of vertical gardens is that plants (their fruit, flowers, scent and
foliage) are brought within
reach, they have many other benefits. Vertical garden elements
can:
• disguise & screen
unpleasant structures or views
• define garden areas
• soften stark surfaces
• provide shade
• allow vertical
circulation of air, ideal for plant growth
• all the while taking up
little horizontal space, important when space is a premium.
Factors to consider
with vertical garden structures
• What is the final
desired height of climbing and hanging plants, in terms of their
reachability?
• What type of vertical
structure is most suitable for a particular plant? How sturdy &
how high does the vertical
structure have to be? For example, the Wisteria climber
requires very strong
vertical support system, while Akebia quinata
is
a light climber
which needs only a
light-weight arch for support.
• In what garden structure
will the plant be rooted? e.g. will a tee-pee for tomatoes be
best located ground level
garden , a raised bed, a planter box, or a containers?
• Are the soil, sun &
shade characteristics suitable? Will you be gardening from seated
or standing position,
& how high can you comfortably reach?
• Consider also the
sun/shade requirements of the plants & the gardeners.
Further examples of
vertical garden structures
• Pergola – this is an
overhead structure, supported by posts, often constructed from
timber or metal. A table &
seats placed under the pergola, shaded by the pergola’s
climbers, can be an idyllic spot
in the garden. Climbers can grow up (from plants
rooted at ground level or in
planter boxes or containers) the pergola. Also, small
plant containers &
baskets can be hung from the rafters of the pergola.
• Teepee – three or more
long narrow poles (bamboo, metal, plastic, timber stakes )
are tied together about ¼
the way from the top with string, tape or wire. The poles
are then splayed apart,
& the self-supporting structure inserted into a ground level
bed, a raised bed, a
planter or a container.
• Trellis – is a latticework
frame or structure, often made from timber or metal, to
support climbing plants. A
trellis can be part of a fence, an arch or be incorporated in
a raised bed or
container.
• A-frames are essentially two
trellises joined at the top, but splayed at the bottom, in
cross-section resembling the letter
‘A’. These are often used for growing melons,
beans & tomatoes.
• Towers are pyramidal structures
consisting of a tall central vertical pole surrounded
by an array of tall
vertical elements (e.g. metal or timber) up which climbers can
grow. Single short timber
supports or stakes can be used for tomatoes to grow up.
• Arches made from trellis work
or twisted wire can support climbing plants.
• Espalier – a trelliswork of
various forms on which the branches of fruit or
ornamental trees are
extended horizontally, in a fan shape for example, in a single
plane.
• Vertical wall gardens (sometimes called
vertical planters) are an array of
‘containers’ that hold then unexposed soil surface perpendicular to the ground. The
containers are about 300mm deep,
usually square or rectangular in shape. The
containers are covered
in plastic, then wire mesh, & then finally stacked or inserted
into a vertical timber
frame. The final structure resembles a bookcase, filled with
wire-fronted boxes, the height of
which can be customised.
Plant material is
inserted into each container by first punching a hole through the
plastic & wire, then
positioning the root system. The plants thus grow sideways.
Vertical planters can be
freestanding (both vertical faces open to the air) in which
case they must be
anchored to a floor, or bolted to a wall, with only one vertical face
open.
Vertical wall gardens
are quite complex to construct. The soil needs to be changed
around once a year and a
drip watering system needs to be designed for the
structure. However, soil moisture
is retained longer than in other containers because
the soil surface is not
exposed to the air.
Hanging baskets
Overhead structures such
as pergolas or house eaves, allow you to hang baskets &
other containers. Hanging
baskets dry out quickly, so ensure that they at a height
permitting frequent watering.
Ropes & pulleys can
be used to lower hanging baskets for tending, then raise them
again out of harm’s
way. With double or triple pulleys you can make a small block &
tackle system, to reduce the
strength necessary to raise & lower the basket. To
minimize accidents, tie
a safety knot to become wedged in the pulley, should control
be lost. Drought tolerant
plants are ideal for hanging baskets. Plants that have a
trailing habit, such as can look
spectacular descending from hanging baskets.
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