Vertical Garden Guide
What is a vertical garden?
A hugely popular decorative element, a vertical garden is a plant structure that can be attached to internal or external walls. It can be made of any plant you choose, and is an excellent way to inject life and greenery into a space.
Some people will also refer to vertical gardens as green walls (both are basically the same)!
Benefits of vertical gardens
- Looking at plants is good for your mental and physical health
- Vertical gardens aids insulation by providing shade
- Noise-absorbing properties makes it fantastic for high traffic spaces in your home
- If you need privacy, vertical gardens can act as a screen or divider
- Acts as a cover-up for unsightly walls and fences
Living VS. Artificial Vertical Gardens
If you’re considering a vertical garden for your home or yard, it’s important to note that there are two options for you: living vertical gardens and artificial vertical gardens. Living vertical gardens are made of living plants, whereas artificial vertical gardens are made of artificial plants. While both types of vertical gardens are equally stunning in their design, there are some key differences between the two.
One of the main differences is that living vertical gardens require a lot more effort to maintain compared to artificial vertical gardens. Frequent watering, feeding, and weeding are vital to keeping living vertical gardens alive, whereas artificial vertical gardens only needs to be wiped clear of dust every once a while. Obviously, this saves a lot of time, water, and energy!
Artificial vertical gardens are also truly evergreen – it can stay green and healthy for a very long time. Unfortunately, living vertical gardens can easily be killed by weeds, infections, and even little critters.
Living vertical gardens also have specific light and humidity requirements, which means they may not be great for certain areas of your home. Meanwhile, artificial vertical gardens are fantastic for areas that aren’t suitable for living plants, particularly spaces with low light.
On the flip side, live plants can also be negatively impacted by too much light! Harsh sunlight can burn or even kill some plants, and this is something that is difficult to control. Our artificial vertical gardens are UV-engineered panels that have UV protection within the plastic itself, which means it does not wash off. This means your plants can last in long sun, even in harsh sunlight. In fact, our plants have been tested and show to endure Australian weather standards!
Another key difference between living vertical gardens and artificial vertical gardens is that artificial vertical gardens are easy to install and move around, and do not have a negative impact on the walls that they’re mounted on. Unfortunately, living vertical gardens have been known to cause structural damage on walls, including chronic dampness from moisture retention and cracking from root damage.
How much does a Vertical Garden cost?
Our artificial vertical gardens (high quality) start at $79.95 for a 1 metre panel, and are made of high quality UV-engineered faux plants. They are easy to install, and last for years with very little maintenance.
Live vertical gardens vary in price depending on the types of plants that are being installed, as well as the size of the plants. In general, planting from seeds can be done very cheaply, but you won’t reap the benefits of the plants for a long time. Seedlings may cost more, but allows the vertical garden to look fuller from the start. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of soil, fertiliser, and ongoing maintenance of your living garden wall too!
Installing a Vertical Garden in your space
The main thing you need for any vertical garden is a suitable vertical surface, such as a wall or a fence. Vertical gardens can be installed on a variety of surfaces, including plasterboard, timber, stone, brick, and concrete.
Depending on whether you are installing a living or artificial vertical garden, you need to consider the location of your vertical garden. If you are installing a living vertical garden, it’s important to consider the light conditions, humidity, and air movement in the area that it is being installed.
While some hardier plants can survive in any condition, the truth is that a lot of plants require very specific amounts of light and humidity. Then there are plants that simply won’t do well in overly windy conditions too! An artificial vertical garden, meanwhile, can be installed pretty much everywhere.
You will then need to select the plants that you’d like to have in your vertical garden. If you’re using real plants, you need to make sure they are the right size and fit for your garden, bearing in mind that you must have room for them to grow! Make sure to read the plants’ information labels carefully to ensure they get everything they need in their specific locations. Plants that you can grow in a living vertical garden include ferns, ivy, and even herbs and vegetables.
Aside from plants, a living vertical garden also consists of soil, irrigation, and drainage system, so make sure you plan ahead to install those too. Don’t forget to consider the effect that gravity will have on your watering system. Gravity pulls water down so when you are designing your wall, so place plants that need less water at the top, and plants that need more water at the bottom.
For artificial plants, make sure you have enough panels to fix in your chosen location, and you have the appropriate tools to safely secure it to a wall. Planning to install your artificial vertical garden on drywall or a wood, brick, cement wall? Then you’ll need a hammer, nails, and a drill. If you’re installing your vertical garden onto a fence or mesh, you only need zip ties. There are several ways to install an artificial vertical garden, so make sure to choose the method that is most appropriate!
Maintaining a Vertical Garden
With a living vertical garden, the type of maintenance involved will depend on each of your individual plants’ needs.
Ensure you have a watering schedule that is suited to the season – most plants are dormant in cold weather, so they will require a lot less watering. However, during high growth season in spring and summer, they will need frequent watering. That being said, be mindful that you don’t overwater your plants, as this can cause its own host of problems too!
Feeding your plants with nutrients are fertilisers are also vital in order for real plants to thrive. This is especially important for vegetables and flowers. It’s a good idea to feed your plants monthly during warmer months, so make sure to include that in your plant care schedule.
If your plants are growing too large and heavy for your vertical wall, or if they appear to be root bound, it may even be necessary to prune them. If you’d rather a plant grow larger than the vertical garden can support, it’s a good idea to remove them from your vertical garden and into the ground or a large pot.
For artificial vertical gardens, the maintenance required is minimal: simply give your faux greenery a wash every few months if they are outdoors, and a monthly dusting if they are indoors. While it’s not necessarily required, you could even add some UV protection spray to prolong the life of your artificial plants even longer.
How our Vertical Gardens are made
Designer Plants® offers a huge range of UV-engineered vertical gardens that look stunning in any space. The UV protection in our faux plants is within the plastic and does not wash off, as the UV protectants are applied into the plastic itself during moulding.
All our plants also undergo hundreds of hours or rigorous testing, where they are subjected to harsh water blasting, UV light testing, and sandblasting. We also have a selection of fire-safe vertical garden panels that have had fire retardant applied to them, which reduces and slows the rate at which they would melt if subjected to flame.
Our faux vertical gardens, like all our plants are ROHS compliant. ROHS is a product level compliance based on the European Union’s Directive 2002/95/EC, the Restriction of the Use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment. This means that all our plants are certified non-toxic.
We are also the only and first artificial greenery supplier in the world to offer 100% recyclable green walls and a recycling program. We are committed to continually sourcing more sustainable materials to make our artificial greenery range, because we believe designer should not come at a price to our planet.
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Benefits of choosing Designer Plants®
Easy to install
No difficult tools or trades people required.
Durable and reusable
100% Recyclable and safe materials, made to last and withstand Aussie weather.
Unique snap & lock system
Easy grid and connect design built-in.
UV Protected
Anti-fade and crack technology. Backed by a 5 year guarantee.
Low maintenance
Say goodbye to trimming, pruning or falling leaves.
No watering
Great for drought prone areas.
Earth + Human friendly
Lower carbon footprint than typical vertical gardens.
Customise and design
Fit to any wall. Cut or shape to your desire.
Order your Life-like Vertical Garden today
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