I came across a great blog called Horticultural Building Systems. A group of enthusiasts have documented their efforts at many different types of vertical gardens installations. While some are concepts only, some have real world applications. Here are some of their vertical garden concepts involving bicycle wheels

Rethinking the Wheel by Vanessa Nevers

This wall mountable, rotating, planing vessel is comprised of

• a decommissioned bicycle wheel
• a felt soil pocket inserted between the wheel spokes
• a wooden mounting panel
• 1 x 6″ carriage bolt run through the panel and wheel
• 2 x radial bearings placed on either side of the wheel
• 1 x cap nut to lock all components in place.

The free rotation of the wheel is intended to guide vine growth in a spiraling pattern

“Bicycle Rim Planter” by Brian Carter

In this system, a bicycle wheel is extended from a wall plan by a steel support. In place of the rubber tire are rockwool slabs contained by porous fabric sewn around the wheels rim. Planted every six inches along the wheel’s circumference are Red Malabar Spinach seeds (Basella rubra, sevia reaudiona). These are climbing plants that will respond to the shifting center of gravity induced by the wheels rotation.

The plants are fed a single drip feed hydroponic system that emits drops of water solution onto the top of the rim between 9 and 12 o’clock. As the rockwool becomes saturated, the wheel begins to turn and the entire rim becomes watered. The dynamic action of the rotating wheel is visually stimulating and also serves as a gravitation experiment testing the growing behaviour of a revolving planter

They have lots of other cool concepts that are worth checking out like the Wall Switch Planter or the Rain Chain Planters