Botanist and designer Patrick Blanc is known for creating vertical gardens, or Living Walls as they are known. His concept is simple, which makes it all the more brilliant: in natural settings where water is available all year long (e.g. the tropics), plant life can be found growing vertically and without soil. With some attention to detail, the same can be done in our own environments.
To prevent root damage to a structure, the trick is to keep the roots on the surface by watering regularly. The Living Wall can also be accomplished indoors with artificial lighting (or natural depending on your setting).
As you can see, the effect can be striking. If you’d like to take a gander at creating your own vertical garden, you may want to consider the Wally Pocket Living Wall System from Wooly Pocket (and available at Design Within Reach). The modular ‘pockets’ are made with a breathable material and have a moisture barrier that make them good for both , outdoor and indoor use.
Thanks for this post. I love the innovativeness of Mr. Blanc’s work and his uncanny ability to bring new meaning to plant life. These are works of art that help purify our air!
You are absolutely right – and I didn’t even get into how great these Living Walls are for environment!
Great vertical gardens… I just discovered them thanks to the mayor of my city that is going green 🙂