Yates began researching vertical gardens in the winter of 2007, after seeing a huge vertical garden, designed by Patrick Blanc, on a five-story museum under construction in Madrid, Spain.

Patrick Blanc’s book “Vertical Gardens” includes a brief section on vertical garden design. Blanc’s book makes it clear that his technique is to grow plants between layers of cloth, staple the plants in place on sheets of expanded pvc, and use hydroponics to feed the plants. However, Blanc’s book leaves many unanswered questions.  The Institute’s mission is to answer those questions with science-based research.

In 2009, using Blanc’s book as a guide, Yates built six 4?x8? panels, a round panel, and a building-corner panel that is 12?x8? on each side, plus a couple of columns built from surplus plastic buckets and barrels.

In the spring of 2010, Yates also installed 900 sq.ft. of vertical gardens on a 65? long cinderblock wall, a 16? high building wall,  and 3 columns, in a new venue — the “Singer Hill Art Garden.”

On July 1, 2010, Yates leased his Art Garden and its vertical gardens to the newly-created Vertical Garden Institute.

Be sure to check out

Vertical Garden Institute
701 John Adams Street
Oregon City, Oregon 97045
503-570-8000
View Larger Map

Any PVC banner with a minimum size of 600 mm high and 400 mm wide can be fabricated into a working product.

Measurements for this example: 2000 x 1000 x ca 100 mm.Original banner was 2000 x 2000 mm.
Growing pockets are sewn to 160 mm deep.

Pockets are folded and sewn with standard thread along side seams and attached to the back layer at 300mm intervals.
Caulking at the side seams creates a watertight seal.

Growing medium is expanded clay and potting mix.

Plants chosen were Epiprenum aurem (Golden Pothos), Hedera Helix “Wonder” (English Ivy), Adiantum fragrans (Maidenhair Fern), Belchnum gibbem (“Silver Lady” Fern)

WallGreen – a vertical garden from Studio Lord on Vimeo.

The plant core consists of 3 rows of 4 6-inch openings for plants (or containers) with drip emitters above each opening. The basin attaches below as a water receptacle.

Each 12-plant module snaps together vertically and laterally.

See some more detail through their technical drawings

Cost is about $US200-$US500

There first project was the Forest Arms, a historic and handsome building that stands at the intersection of Forest and 2nd in Midtown.

From their website they state that “We know that Detroit has the world’s finest collection of abandoned architecture. We know that these buildings are called the following: blight, eyesores, beautiful, dilapidated, tragic, dangerous, worth saving”.

“Many of us used to work in Detroit.  Some of us once lived in Detroit.  A few of us live there now. No matter where we live or work, we are quite passionate about the Motor City. That was made clear when seventy-five of us signed up for this project in twenty minutes”.

“It’s a fact that empty buildings can impact the psychology of a neighborhood. They cast a shadow that’s hard to shake off”.

“The Forest Arms is one example of a fairly large building – standing four stories tall – whose history of fire damage in 2008 stands visible to hundreds of people each day”.

“We don’t know whether flowers can grow bright enough to change the impression of the Forest Arms, or to help lift the shadow for a season. But that’s something we’d like to find out.”

They are looking for people to help expand the project further next year to one or two more buildings, slowly but surely beginning a process that could change the texture and landscape of the city.

I think this is a great project worth supporting. Well done guys

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

The secret to aquaponics is that the fish waste is used as a fertilizer for the plants and the plants clean the water in the process. The Urban Garden Magazine DIY process with some great photos is provide below

Supplies:

• Culture tray — 31? l x 16? w x 1.5? h (79 cm x 40 cm x 4 cm)
• Thirty flat-head nuts (4 mm x 16 mm) and bolts
• 6.5 feet (2 m) plastic net
• 2 pounds (0.9 kg) of sphagnum moss
• 6.5 feet (2 m) irrigation pipe – 0.5? (13 mm)
• A pipe elbow and cap
• 4 adjustable flow emitters
• A submersible aquarium pump – 250 gallons (946 l) per hour
• A complete aquarium
• Twenty small plants in 2 inch (5 cm) pots

Tools:

• A drill and a 0.1575? (4 mm) drill bit
• 5 gallon (19 l) container
• A screwdriver
• A pair of sharp scissors

Step by step:

Set up

First, let’s take a look at the heart of the system: the culture tray, plastic net and sphagnum moss growing media.

The main task is to move water from the fish tank to the top of the vertical wall and arrange it so that the wall is irrigated evenly. We will achieve this using a pump, some irrigation pipe, some dripper holes and emitters. To mount the irrigation pipe, cut a section of pipe roughly the same width as the tray. Connect one end to an elbow joint and the other to a stopper cap. Drill a series of evenly spaced holes in a straight line along the bottom side of the pipe and fix the emitters.

After spacing the emitters, drill four holes into the tray so the emitters can clip into place.

Place the culture tray above the aquarium and secure it to the wall with two mounting brackets. You can also add extra stability with side hooks if you wish.

The irrigation line is now completed. Arrange the pump and pipe so that the pump is at the bottom of the aquarium.

Now it’s time to prepare the substrate. Crumble the sphagnum moss and place it in a watertight container.

After the moss is broken into small pieces, give it a heavy watering, then press it lightly to drain off any excess liquid.

Once the moistened sphagnum moss has changed color and has drunk a large quantity of water, you will notice that it becomes spongy. In fact it almost recovers the elasticity of living sphagnum!

Insert the sphagnum moss into the culture tray and press down on it firmly to remove any lingering excess water.

Continue to push the moss into the tray until it’s uniformly filled.

When the tray is full, press the moss down again. It’s really important to ensure that it’s consistently distributed throughout the tray. The level of the moss should be slightly higher than the edges of the tray—your aim is to have the moss pressed down firmly when you fix the plastic netting in place over the top. After all, you don’t want any moss falling out of the wall into the tank!

Cut a piece of screen, slightly larger than the tray (this will make your life easier,) and lay it on top.

Fix the net to the rim of the tray by drilling holes in the rim (roughly 4? (10 cm) apart.) Once all the holes are made, fix the mesh on to the tray with nuts and bolts or, alternatively, some wire.

After attaching the upper edge, fix the sides in the same way. When fixing the net, proceed from the parts that are already fixed as this will give you a better fit. After completing one side, fix the opposite side in place too, stretching out the screen in both directions, horizontally and vertically. The elasticity of the plastic netting can be used to your advantage. Tightening properly will prevent the substrate from collapsing but do not over tighten or the stitches in the netting will tear.

Finally, fix the netting into the bottom edge of the tray—it should be positioned in the same way as the top edge. Once the net is fixed all around the edges of the tray, cut off any excess net from the edges of the tray.

The tray is ready to receive plants!

Figure out how you are going to arrange your plants first. Here we’ve chosen Alocasia (elephant ear), Nephrolepis (fern), Scindapsus (pothos), Ficus pumilla (creeping fig), Chlorophytum (spider plant) and Asparagus.

To prepare the plants, wash off as much existing media from their roots as possible. This can be done by soaking the root-ball of each plant in water and moving it back and forth.

Cut a square in the netting just large enough to insert the root-ball.

Press a hole into the moss by inserting two fingers right down to the bottom of the tray.

The hole is now ready to receive the plant. The only job that remains is to introduce the plants into the tray. Once planted, pack the base of the stem with sphagnum moss to properly secure the plant in place and ensure proper hydration. Repeat this process until all your plants are inserted. Don’t overcrowd the installation—you should think positively and leave room for some growth!

When the installation is finished, straighten the tray and check that all the plants are securely in place.

It’s now time to put the table above the aquarium, fix it to the wall, and connect the irrigation pump! Exciting times indeed! The first watering cycle will serve to re-moisten the moss and ensure that the water is effectively running. All the run-off should make its way back into the aquarium of course!

Now most of the remaining work is up to Mother Nature! The plants should be irrigated a few minutes per day, just long enough to let the water flow from the top to the bottom and back into the aquarium. When water starts to drain from the tray, it means that you have sufficiently watered your plants. It should take around three or four minutes to complete this process.

Maintenance

The water will become slightly orange in color because of the sphagnum moss. To minimize this coloration, you can add some active carbon for aquariums into the sphagnum moss if you wish.

The sphagnum moss is acidic and can affect the pH level of the water. So, to run an aquaponic system properly, the pH should be monitored and maintained at seven. This is also something that should be considered when choosing the type of fish for your aquarium.

The water temperature should be held in a range of 64°F to 71°F (18°C to 22°C).

Consider using a light foliar spray for your plants once a week to keep them in tip top condition.

This is a photo below was taken when it was first installed (via wikimedia commons).  As you can see the style has changed considerably, with some plants not existing in the original planting.

The vertical garden consists of 15,000 plants from 250 species over an adjacent apartment building wall next to the CaixaForum.

As in all his walls, he uses a felt based system with pockets cut in, on a PVC back plate.

There were many visible patches without plants which are not as visible when looking at the larger picture but very noticeable close up.

Even on nice sections there are noticeable gaps up close.

The planting is probably not suited to DIY home jobs which are much smaller and are viewed from 0-5m instead of up to 20-50m away.

There seems to be many new plants, I would expect the plant turnover rate to be quite high and this wall would require considerable maintenance.

Also noted was cascading water which was not be recollected, not sure what percentage was being wasted but was noticeable.

There is a great selection of plants here, some very beautiful examples. Glad we made the trip.

Great concept, but most lichen I have seen doesn’t look as good as that. But if it works it is a great solution.

Also not sure that I like the color selection. Green wall should be green not “Red Pepper”

Via Design Boom

Their client in West Hollywood wanted to have a hanging garden that was a “living painting,” executed in the Impressionist style, all swirls and swaths of color.

The frame was custom-fabricated 4″ x 1.75″ extruded aluminum tubing joined to make a 74-by-54 inch rectangular box. They used a light loose mixture of potting soil/perlite, and the drip system that snakes throughout. After the planting it weighed more than 400 pounds and required a floor jack and a crew of five to hang it on a cabinet rail at the top.

They chose varieties based on their growing patterns first, looking for lateral rather than vertical growth. They included Black Prince, Blue Cloud, Elegans, Glauca, Morning Beauty, Perle Von Nurnberg, Agavoides Red, After Glow. Most are slow growing, tolerate full sun, and are relatively expensive — a 2-inch head of Agavoides Red can go for $US10. Also considering that there are more than 240 plants used.

Also check out some of the photos from Inside Out Design below.

If you are interested in having your own succulent living wall, please contact us to find out more.

]]> http://www.lushe.com.au/2010/07/13/succulent-living-wall/feed/ 3 http://www.lushe.com.au/2010/07/06/planted-art/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=planted-art http://www.lushe.com.au/2010/07/06/planted-art/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:30:11 +0000 Lushe http://www.lushe.com.au/?p=1552 Michael Brunt and Patrick Marston from Planted Art have created some fantastic art works using mosses, succulents and other weird objects. I thought the mirror looks fantastic.