With a little planning, inspiration you can find online and help from your local garden center employees, you can create a vertical garden in no time and welcome a beautiful and lively decor piece into your home.
1. Pick your garden’s location
Choosing where you want to put your garden before you get started is important for several reasons. First, it will give you an idea of how much space you have to work with. Take measurements so when you head to the hardware store or garden center, you already have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your garden and the supplies you’ll need to do so.
Secondly, choosing the location is important to determine how much sunlight that spot gets before you hang any plants. Select the plants for your garden based on the location’s brightness and level of sun exposure, and select a variety of plants that have similar sunlight preferences. This way, you won’t end up with a garden with sunburned plants mixed in with thriving ones.
2. Choose the type of garden
There are a million and one different ways to create a vertical garden, and your goals will dictate what’s most practical for you. Do you have a wall that would look stunning with rows of potted plants hung to it? Or do you want to create a framed garden, and use wire mesh to hold the contents inside when it’s hung?
Whether you’re trying to fill the space on a wall, bring part of your herb garden inside to the kitchen or just liven up your home, there’s a vertical garden for you. Searching through sites like Pinterest can give you some garden inspiration and help you pick what will work best in your space.
3. Head to the store
With your measurements and shopping list in hand, head to your favorite garden center to stock up on the supplies you’ll need for your project. If you’re creating this garden on a budget, there are countless ideas online for ways you can recycle containers you probably already have to make planters.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from the store employees – they help people more clueless than you all the time and are happy to give you product or garden advice.
4. Start with a frame
You can definitely start building your garden directly on a wall if you choose, but building your garden within a frame makes it much easier to move the garden around if you need to replace any plants that aren’t doing too hot.
Your garden’s frame will ideally be made out of a lightweight material so it doesn’t add too much stress to the wall when you have to hang it. Use some type of wood or PVC pipe for your frame.
5. Add backing and plant support
After you’ve constructed your frame, measure out a piece of plywood or picture frame board to fit the size of the frame. Attach the backing to your frame with glue or nails, and then line the inside of the entire frame with a plastic lining to make it water resistant.
Once you’ve protected the garden frame from water, start filling the inside of the frame with a well-draining soil until it almost reaches the top of the frame. After the frame is almost full with soil, you can choose to cover it with moss if you’d like. Then, attach a piece of chicken wire to cover the entire frame. The chicken wire will keep your plants in place once the garden stands upright.
6. Plan and plant
Here’s where the real fun begins – designing your garden! Play around with the design of your garden until you have a clear idea of where you want each plant to go. Once you’re confident in your design, get to planting!
Use a wire cutter to cut holes in the chicken wire to make room for your plants – just don’t cut the holes too big. Then, form small holes in the soil for the roots of each plant. Tuck the plant in and pat the soil down around the root system.
7. Let it settle
Congratulations, You’ve planted your first vertical garden! You just need to keep it horizontal for a little bit longer.
Give your new garden a few days for the root system of each plant to settle a little before placing it upright. Make sure to water your plants accordingly – vertical gardens are easily kept moist with mist bottles.
Your garden will be flourishing in no time. Don’t forget to have fun with it!
