Living walls, or vertical gardens, are becoming an increasingly frequent seen feature in urban landscapes worldwide. They can be grown up external walls from ground level, or be planted on upright frameworks. Upward planting schemes are also widely used internally - where people work and in public spaces where they gather- and can form part of biophilic design schemes aimed at improving health and wellbeing.
There are many reasons why growing plants up walls and other vertical surfaces is desirable. On this subject, the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) offers some excellent information and advice.
In a website post titled “Green Walls” the RHS suggests that “Many types of plants will tolerate the high life in a green wall, from herbs and fruit to grasses and ferns. Whether in sun or shade, covering walls with plants can enhance the smallest of spaces.”
As well as providing aesthetic appeal, there are other significant benefits including:
o Improving air quality
o Providing an additional layer of insulation, thus enabling reduced energy consumption for heating
o Keeping buildings cool in the heat of summer, as green walls don’t store up the sun’s energy
o Forming a barrier against outside noise
o Offering a natural habitat for wildlife, particularly insects
Greening the Planet
We recently posted a blog titled “Climate Change Tips for Gardeners” which provided advice on how to counteract the effects of global warming. By creating green living walls at business premises as well as private residences, occupants can also make their contribution to greening the planet and reducing carbon emissions.
The RHS describes the three separate ways of establishing a green wall as:
o Direct Greening - using a climber that clings naturally to the substrate
o Indirect Greening – using trellises or other frameworks for climbers that require support
o Living Wall Systems (LWS) – more complex structures for non-climbing plants that may require a system of irrigation
The RHS has further useful tips to give on suitable plants to use and other guidance. They also advise that the best time to plant will be in spring.
If you would like to discuss how you could encourage your plants to successfully grow up to create a living wall feature in 2020, the expert team at Ross Solution Projects is there to help.
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