More and more people are growing vertical gardens, which are plants and flowers grown not on the ground or a raised bed or a planter but on an upright surface such as a wall. The wall can be indoor or outdoor, though it’s probably easier to grow a vertical garden outdoors where it can benefit from rainfall, fresh air, and unmediated sunlight, and cleaning up fallen leaves and spent flowers isn’t as much work. The vertical garden is also saved from varmints who might dig them up in a traditional garden while getting all the benefits of pollinators. Here are three reasons to grow a vertical garden on an outdoor wall.
1. Vertical Gardens Save Space
A vertical garden usually takes up much less space than a traditional garden, which, after all, can be acres large. Interestingly, this smaller space can increase productivity if the garden grows edible plants such as herbs and vegetables. It’s also easier to harvest, as the gardener doesn’t have to bend down. A vertical garden also forces the gardener to be more creative when it comes to the sort of plants they choose and how they arrange these plants to be aesthetically pleasing.
Vertical gardening also makes the gardener mindful of the types of materials they’ll need to attach the garden to their wall. It can also be just the thing for a city dweller, as a garden can be grown on the wall of a sunny balcony or a trellis set up on a roof.
2. Vertical Gardens are Good for the Environment
Vertical gardens help the environment because they help prevent the erosion of soil. When someone waters a traditional garden, the water often washes away the top layer of nutrient-rich soil. Often, fertilizers or pesticides are also in the soil, and these chemicals can enter the groundwater and contaminate it. This is less of a problem for vertical gardens where water drips from the top tier of plants to the bottom. Vertical gardens also benefit from automated irrigation systems.
The plants grown in vertical gardens also help to clean the air, a benefit if the garden is found in or near polluting areas such as a city or industrial park. Planting on a large arbor also shades the area beneath it, which makes it cooler in the summer and a lovelier place to sit and relax. Even a vertical garden established on the walls of the house helps to keep the house cool in the summer.
3. Vertical Gardens are Beautiful
Besides all the other reasons to grow a vertical garden, its beauty should be at the top of the list. Along with saving space, a vertical garden adds beauty to a wall that no one would otherwise notice or is actually unsightly. A garden growing on the walls of a house’s facade enhances its curb appeal immensely. Some vertical gardens are true works of art with arrangements of berries, vibrantly colored flowers, moss, ferns, and vining veggies such as melons and cucumbers.