Vertical planting. Anyone done that? (Houston, West: coupon, how much, houses)

[behtypa]

I am wondering if anyone has done the vertical planting in their backyards or around the houses?
I mean something like this? Can you share pictures of what you have done?




I know how it's done. It's easy. Living social is selling a coupon for prefab version now.

There are a lot of unique advantages, especially for Houston. Namely:
- It saves ton of space. Plant anything (even veggies) and it will take only a space along your fence or a house wall.
- It can be a natural solar screen/barrier for your wall facing the sun. This is why I want to do it. I want to cover my West house wall with some plants (initially I was thinking of creeping ivy, roses, etc.) and this will reduce the energy bill!
- It's easy to clean up and take care of, if the structure is not too tall for you and does not require a ladder.

If you have one of those, here is a few questions for you:
- Do you have it on a full sun or a partial sun side?
- How much insects, lizards and snakes does it attract? Is it safe for children to be around?
- Hurricane preparedness. What did you do to make sure the structure does not fly around in the hurricane wind?
- How much space off the wall did you leave? Any 4x4 beams with concrete in the ground?

Now, since I have raised the "vertical" subject, there is another vertical planting approach, which i am a big fan of. It is called espalier. It allows to shape a tree/shrub so that it would grow flat and not take a lot of space.



The espalier is a great way to have any tree or shrub flat along the fence/wall and still give fruits or bloom anyway you want. Just an FYI.

[Thila]

I have seen pictures of this in gardening magazines and have also become interested. I priced the forms at one time but they seemed quite expensive at the time. I would also be interested in hearing what others have to say. Agree that it would do well in Houston.

[greatblueheron]

Those look great....if you can make or buy like these, wonderful.
I did this last yr but on a smaller scale and cheaper!
Not in Houston but no reason these could not work well for you.

Because I was going to use these in a fenced area in my backyard, did not particularly care about looks, only function. Bought several hanging shoe bags (with the pockets) ...sorry no photos....the type that hang on doors, but hung mine on fence.

You can buy the shoe pockets cheaply...the plastic ones I cut a small hole in the bottom of each pocket for drainage....they need water frequently, as there is only room for a small amt of soil....BEST for herbs/vegs with SHALLOW root systems.

Grew spinach, leaf lettuce only, did very well!

This yr will try others....likely strawwberries
Have fun...

[houston-nomad]

Hmmm that raises an interesting question of how you effectively water these? I bet they would dry out quickly.

Maybe an Archimedes screw, a la Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Though standing there with a hose and sprayer would be easier than constructing an Archimedes screw.

[behtypa]

Thanks for a feedback!
IMO, making a large Vertical garden should be a 3 out of 5 in my complexity level. I would use 2 4x4 posts and put them in a concrete ground. I would then use 2x6, 2x8 and so on to create pockets at 45 degree angle. Large enough to have plenty of soil... I brought up a good point about drainage. This need to be addressed too.

Overall this is doable by one handy man in like 6 hours. With a days break to allow concrete foundation to set.

Originally Posted by greatblueheron

You can buy the shoe pockets cheaply...the plastic ones I cut a small hole in the bottom of each pocket for drainage....they need water frequently, as there is only room for a small amt of soil....BEST for herbs/vegs with SHALLOW root systems.

Grew spinach, leaf lettuce only, did very well!

This yr will try others....likely strawwberries
Have fun...

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

Hmmm that raises an interesting question of how you effectively water these? I bet they would dry out quickly.

Maybe an Archimedes screw, a la Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Though standing there with a hose and sprayer would be easier than constructing an Archimedes screw.

Great point. I did not think of this.

- My budget solution would be to have a bucket of a rainwater (rain barrel) on top.
- another option is to hook it up to an existing irrigation
- a fancy way is to have a solar panel slowly pumping the water from a nearby large rain barrel. Or make it a hydrophonic watering.



Succulents can be used too. This reduces a need for a lot of water! Cactus has lived very well on top of my rain barrels in shallow ground for 2 years now!

[brassylass]

You could see if you could get some drip IV bags. Or they sell little bulb looking things that look similar to behtypa's post but they go the other way into potted plants. You would just have to buy a lot if all the containers are separate. I want to try the hanging shoe holder thing.

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

Hmmm that raises an interesting question of how you effectively water these? I bet they would dry out quickly.

Maybe an Archimedes screw, a la Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Though standing there with a hose and sprayer would be easier than constructing an Archimedes screw.

Archimedes screw or a PVC piping at an angle is a good idea.

Since there are many ways to do the vertical garden, I would start from the "goal" of this project.

1. If the goal is to protect a wall from sun heating / increase an energy efficiency, I would use some creeping plants like ivy or creeping roses, etc.



I would have them climb up a chicken wire or a flexible metal mesh used for reinforced concrete. This is flexible enough to roll it down in a tube (together with the creeping plant!) and secure on a ground in case of a hurricane. And it is light enough not to damage the fence or a wall. IMO. This is my idea of a solar screen the natural way.

[behtypa]

2. If the goal is to save a space and make a fence / wall looking good, any creeping plants would work. The chicken-wire version would still be the cheapest.



3. If the purpose is to plant some veggies in a minimum of space, then those vertical planting pockets would work great for smaller plants (tomatoes, etc.) and herbs.



And an espalier would work great for trees like oranges, apples and so on.




IMO, any of these options are a low maintenance, except for watering, which needs to be designed individually.

[behtypa]

I will leave a few pictures here I just came across. Some have great ideas.

Note "Architectural grill planter wall". It is another form of vertical planting. it can be done practically anywhere. Also note that this was probably made of a weed barrier fabric, widely used in landscaping and cheap too.


source:
Bustler: Gowanus Lowline: Connections - Entry “Domestic Laundry”

I love this picture because it shows that LED lights could be a great addition to your vertical planting. It will look awesome!



Finally, one more technology widely used today in commercial applications, that is inexpensive and can be used by us, homeowners. It's geocells (geopavement and other names). It's great for securing a slope or a drainage that washes away soil. I have one sloped area where I need one of these things.