Vertical gardening is exactly what it sounds like: plants that are grown upwards on a structure, rather than on a flat lawn. Whilst it sounds pointless, vertical gardening is a great option for green fingered people who don’t have the outside space to fully indulge in their hobby! It also offers a fantastic way to add plants and flowers to your living spaces that can give splashes of colour and fragrant smells to your home. As well as for use in smaller living spaces, vertical gardens can be huge and used to cover large sections of walls and buildings for dramatic visual effects.
Vertical Gardening Ideas For Small Spaces
There are many different ways that you can incorporate vertical gardens into small spaces into your home, whether it be in small gardens, balconies or indoors.
Trellises
A trellis is a large vertical wooden lattice, that you can thread or affix plants to so that they grow upwards in a winding fashion. You can buy them from any good garden centre or even build one yourself! They are designed to hold climbing plants such as vines, ivy and honeysuckle, but you can get creative with them. Indoor trellises require a plant pot beneath them for the plants to be planted in and grow out of, unlike outdoor trellises where the plants grow directly from the ground below. Once you have your trellis ready, then you can place it up against a wall and wait for your plants to climb tall! You could even make your trellis freestanding and use it as a stunning room separator.
Hanging Baskets
Hanging baskets typically are placed at the outside entrance to your home, but if you have a flat then you may not have an outside entrance to decorate. Why not use hanging baskets to brighten up a small balcony or courtyard? Making a hanging basket is very easy. All you need is a basket with a handle, a liner (phagnum moss, cocoa liners or burlap liners), soil, a water reservoir and, of course, your plants! Line your handing baskets with your chosen liner, top up with soil to around 4- 6 inches from the bottom of the baskets, then insert a vertical 8-10 inch section of slotted drainpipe (AKA your water reservoir) into the centre. Make sure to leave the top 2-3 inches of the drainpipe above the soil level and around 4 inches from the bottom of the basket. If the drainpipe hits the bottom of the basket then any water will simply drain straight through the bottom instead of filtering evenly throughout the soil.
You can now start planting your plants and grasses into your hanging basket. Make sure to choose plants that will stay fairy small and not outgrow their surroundings!
Terrariums
Terrariums are small ‘gardens’ that are created within small environments, such as glass jars or fishbowls. They are very easy to put together and can last for years without a huge amount of maintenance! Our Half Gallon Glass Pickle Jars are ideal for making homemade terrariums with, as they are large enough to get creative with your designs, but small enough to keep on a shelf or mantelpiece for all to see and enjoy.
You’ll need: pebbles, activated charcoal, potting soil, plants and any small ornaments that you desire.
First add a layer of pebbles or small stones at the bottom of your container. Next top with a layer of activated charcoal, then a layer of potting soil (enough to plant your plants in). Now it’s time to plant your greenery! Once again, make sure to choose plants that will not outgrow their containers quickly. Cacti and other succulents are a great choice for terrariums, as they cope well with humidity and do not need much watering. Finish off your tiny garden scene by decorating with ornaments if you so wish! Place your finished terrarium in a space that receives a lot of bright, indirect sunlight and lightly water the plants every 2 weeks (or once the potting soil looks like it has become too dry).
Shelving
If trellises are too large, hanging baskets are too fiddly and terrariums are too complicated, then why not simply buy yourself some small houseplants and a tall shelving unit so that you can create a ‘wall’ of green without much effort?
