{"id":8419,"date":"2022-03-10T12:52:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T11:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=75051"},"modified":"2022-03-10T13:06:17","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T12:06:17","slug":"how-to-create-a-living-wall","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/how-to-create-a-living-wall\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create a living wall"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Veronica Peerless\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 10 March 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

In a small urban garden dominated by boundaries, a living wall can have a transformative effect. It introduces hundreds of more plants without taking up precious space and gives the whole space a lush feel.<\/p>\n

This small, shady courtyard garden in the centre of Utrecht illustrates this perfectly. Designed by Dutch garden designer, Erik Funneman, it has interest at every level, including a green wall or plant wall around the dining area. \u201cIt\u2019s a green oasis in the city,\u201d says Erik.<\/p>\n

The garden requires four or five half days\u2019-worth of care each year. \u201cI enjoy spending time here \u2013 mostly tending to the vertical garden, which is nice, light work,\u201d he says. \u201cWith the planting at face height, you can get really close to observe and enjoy the details of each plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here, Erik gives his top tips for designing a vertical garden.<\/p>\n

For more information on this garden, see the March 2022 issue of Gardens Illustrated<\/a>, on sale now.<\/p>\n

How to create a living wall<\/h2>\n
\""Green\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Erik Funneman\u2019s green wall in Utrecht. \u00a9 Sietske de Vries<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Choose the best spot<\/h3>\n

Think about how the wall will be viewed, and whether you want to sit near it in order to enjoy it close up. In this garden, Erik opted for a corner that wraps around the dining area and faces the house, to create a green vista to look out onto.<\/p>\n

Get the right foundations in place<\/h3>\n

Erik protected the existing wall with a sheet of EPDM rubber. He then added a concrete foundation to support a structure of galvanised steel gabion cages. \u201cIt has a grid of 10cm x 10cm openings, to perfectly accommodate plants grown in 9cm pots,\u201d explains Erik.<\/p>\n

Choose a variety of leaf textures, shapes and shades of green<\/h3>\n
\""A\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A living green wall<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Getty images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Erik tries to create a variety of textures, leaf shapes and many different shades of green into his green walls, from fluffy grasses to plants with interesting leaf shapes.<\/p>\n

Install a watering system<\/h3>\n

Install an integrated watering and feeding system that is insulated, to prevent the system freezing in winter.<\/p>\n

Use a soil mix that sticks together easily<\/h3>\n

Incorporate long-fibred organic material such as coir into your soil mix. The soil should be thoroughly moistened before the plants are put in place, which is an incredibly messy job. Dense planting will prevent the soil from falling out as the structure becomes one big mass of entwined roots.<\/p>\n

Plants for a living wall<\/h2>\n

In this plant wall, Erik has used the following plants:<\/p>\n

Carex elata<\/em> \u2018Aurea\u2019<\/h3>\n
\""Carex\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Carex elata<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

A compact, evergreen grass with narrow, golden leaves. AGM.<\/p>\n

Geranium macrorrhizum<\/em><\/h3>\n
\""Geranium\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Geranium macrorrhizum<\/em> \u2018Variegatum\u2019 \u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

A low growing, semi-evergreen perennial with lobed leaves. Pretty pink flowers in early summer.<\/p>\n

Ferns<\/h3>\n
\""Asplenium\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Asplenium scolopendrium<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Jason Ingram<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Erik uses lots of ferns in his green walls \u2013 most enjoy shady conditions and many are evergreen, such as Asplenium scolopendrium<\/em>. Go for a variety, with differing colours and leaf textures.<\/p>\n

Soleirolia soleirolii<\/em><\/h3>\n

Also known as baby\u2019s tears or mind-your-own-business, Soleirolia soleirolii<\/em> is a low growing, spreading plant with tiny leaves. A very useful plant that will spread without becoming too invasive.<\/p>\n

You may also like\u2026<\/p>\n

Make a living sphere<\/a><\/p>\n

Garden wall design ideas<\/a><\/p>\n

Retaining walls and plantable structures<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div>

\""sphere\"<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>

USEFUL INFORMATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information on Erik Funneman\u2019s work, visit erikfunneman.nl<\/a><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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By Veronica Peerless Published: Thursday, 10 March 2022 at 12:00 am In a small urban garden dominated by boundaries, a living wall can have a transformative effect. It introduces hundreds of more plants without taking up precious space and gives the whole space a lush feel. This small, shady courtyard garden in the centre of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":8420,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/03\/how-to-create-a-living-wall-scaled.jpg",1707,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/03\/how-to-create-a-living-wall-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/03\/how-to-create-a-living-wall-200x300.jpg",200,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/03\/how-to-create-a-living-wall-768x1152.jpg",768,1152,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/03\/how-to-create-a-living-wall-683x1024.jpg",683,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/03\/how-to-create-a-living-wall-1024x1536.jpg",1024,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/03\/how-to-create-a-living-wall-1365x2048.jpg",1365,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Veronica Peerless Published: Thursday, 10 March 2022 at 12:00 am In a small urban garden dominated by boundaries, a living wall can have a transformative effect. It introduces hundreds of more plants without taking up precious space and gives the whole space a lush feel. This small, shady courtyard garden in the centre of…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/8419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}