Verti-Go-Go

Amanda Thomsen

Vertical gardening is a trend that just keeps on growing. I see green walls at every public garden, flower and garden show and trade show. However, I have yet to see one in someone’s ACTUAL back yard. What gives? Vertical gardens are awesome in theory. I’m all for growing something everywhere and anywhere—not just vertically! I’d be an advocate for the Conversion Van Dashboard Garden (TM) and a Parterre-in-your-Pocket (Patent Pending) if they existed. However, just how practical is vertical gardening? Why doesn’t everyone have one? Well, I want one. Here’s what I’d have to think about if I went shopping for one.

When building a green wall, I’d need some kind of structure for the plants to grow in or on. All the framework out there on the market is pretty expensive, whether it’s plastic or fabric. If I am planning on doing any area of size, the investment is probably 64 times more than I thought was possible. And, really, all I wanted was some plants to grow on the side of my garage. Who sells plastic wall grids, fabric pockets or vertical gardening kits? This trend is red hot and I can’t say that I’ve ever seen any for sale at any garden centers (and I get around).

In planting a vertical wall, I’d find that I’d go through plant material like my husband goes through the Halloween candy that he purposely buys two weeks early … that’s A LOT and FAST. If I want it to look full and lush, like it does on the Internet and in magazines, I’ll need more plants than the average aircraft carrier can carry. Now, I know that not just every plant lends itself to wall-life, either; it’s truly Jedi level stuff. If a customer came into your garden center this afternoon and asked for plants that were appropriate for a green wall, what would your salespeople say?

The irrigation situation for vertical gardens can be tricky. A homeowner may think they can just hose it down every once in awhile, not thinking that those tiny chambers of soil baking on that South facing wall all day have different requirements than a boxwood hedge or backyard container. Most vertical gardening kits are set up so that drip irrigation tubing can be threaded throughout the whole rig, which looks complicated and tedious to me and I do it professionally. I’ve had customers bear with me through the structure explanation, the “you need a barge full of plants” spiel, and then balk at the irrigation. Something about a constant shower of moisture against the walls of their home or garage sucks the fun right out of it.

Also, I’d need to think about how winter would affect my green wall. I understand not everyone participates in winter. I bet you can set a green wall up in Zone 10 and rock it out for years to come. But for me, what will a green wall in Chicago look like in January? Like the very picture of Seasonal Affective Disorder—a sad, dead mess. And with so little soil to protect those roots from becoming rootsicles, how many of those bazillion plants are going to come back with a vengeance next year? I’d probably have to dismantle the whole thing to protect the irrigation lines. I’m a dedicated horticulturist and even I am backing away from the vertical garden. How is a customer supposed to deal?

For me, a vertical wall is super costly, time consuming and sort of difficult to keep alive. And that’s coming from someone who really wants one. How can we help bring this trend home for our customers? I see them out there buying faux succulent “living” wall panels from catalogs and stores at the mall. And the way I see it, that money should be coming to our industry, right? Why not have someone on staff trained to be able to set up a wall kit in minutes, have a list or table display of wall appropriate plants available, host a workshop. Let’s bring this trend home, where it belongs! GP

Amanda Thomsen is Kiss My Aster!, a funky, punky gardening blog planted at KissMyAster.com and FineGardening.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @KissMyAster or check out the party at the Kiss My Aster! Facebook page.