Elegant, insulating, pollution-cleansing plant walls have inched across our vertical surfaces, both indoors and outdoors.
Care to set one up yourself?
You’ve got a range of options.
Spectacular happenings by Patrick Blanc, the man who “vegetalized” a great many public buildings, hotels, restaurants (the Pershing Hall courtyard, the Quai Branly Museum…) have given us also the itch to try setting up our own plant wall, too. These make it possible to maximize plant growth while using up very little floorspace, which is perfect to bring life to a balcony, deck, terrace or small garden.
Plant walls now come in shapes and sizes to match every whim… and every budget, too. The most expensive technique is the one that Patrick Blanc uses: hydroponic growing. Plants are “planted” in a special cloth that is irrigated with a nutrient-rich solution that runs in a closed circuit. This is all attached to panels that are then set up on the wall, indoors or outdoors.
For us home dwellers, manufacturers have now developed structures that make it easy to set up and compose our very own plant wall along a brick wall, on a terrace, in a courtyard, garden or house.
Some (Citeflor) have a steel structure with an absorbing felt woven in. This is where the plants grow their roots, and the felt stays moist because its tip rests in a tank with water.
This concept is quite easy to reproduce for the DIY-experts out there.
Of course, it’s also possible to purchase it ready to plant (200 €/$ and more) or even pre-planted (350 €/$ or more).
Of course, garden furniture has caught up on the trend and now all sorts of multiple-level garden boxes or plastic assembling towers are now available. Some of them are on wheels (Vertiss) and all you need to do is plant them to decorate a wall or section out your garden.
Another option: textile pouches that can be hung to contain plants (great idea for herbs and spices). These can also be found in horticulture stores.
Lastly, plant frames (Vertilignes) are actually frames that encase live plants. These make it real easy to add a touch of green to the walls of your living room.
Laure Hamann
