- Origins of Green Walls<\/a><\/li>
- Benefits of Green Walls<\/a><\/li>
- How Green Walls Work<\/a><\/li>
- Types of Green Walls<\/a><\/li>
- How to Make a Green Wall for Your Home or Landscape<\/a><\/li>
- FAQ<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>
Origins of Green Walls<\/h2>
The concept of growing plants on walls has been around for thousands of years, but landscape architecture professor Stanley Hart White was the first to patent vertical gardens as we know them today. He had the idea way back in 1938, but it didn\u2019t really grow on people until decades later.<\/p>
In the 1980s and 1990s, a French botanist named Patrick Blanc began to popularize green wall systems as a method of urban agriculture<\/a>. He sought to improve biodiversity in big cities with his massive living wall designs. <\/p>
With the rise of Patrick Blanc, living green walls started popping up all over the place, in residential and commercial spaces, indoors and outdoors. <\/p>
![\"green](\"https:\/\/www.lawnstarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Le_mur_vegetal_Musee_du_quai_Branly_7166632353.jpg\")
A section of one of Patrick Blanc\u2019s most famous projects, the 40-foot high and 650-foot long living wall at the Mus\u00e9e du quai Branly.
Photo Credit: Jean-Pierre Dalb\u00e9ra<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons \/ CC BY 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Note:<\/strong> Especially in the 2010s, with environmental sustainability rising to the forefront of public thought, these green garden walls became popular with businesses and homeowners alike. <\/p>
Benefits of Green Walls<\/h2>
People don\u2019t just like living walls because they look pretty. They can also make a building more energy-efficient and have positive impacts on people\u2019s health and well-being. <\/p>
These are a few of the benefits of having a green wall in a home or commercial space:<\/p>
- Exterior: An outdoor green wall adds an extra layer of insulation<\/strong> to a home or building<\/strong>. That means it takes less energy to keep the inside cool in the summer and warm in the winter. In urban environments, outdoor living walls also improve the general air quality and reduce heat island effects<\/a>.<\/li>
- Interior: An indoor living wall<\/strong> supplies the inside of a home or building with fresh, oxygen-rich air<\/strong>. They also filter out indoor air pollutants like VOCs. <\/li> <\/ul>
VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are organic chemicals found in human-made products such as paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, and building materials. They can have negative short-term or long-term effects on health. VOC levels are up to 10 times higher for indoor air than outdoor. <\/p>
![\"Interior](\"https:\/\/www.lawnstarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/987px-Mur_vegetal_interieur.jpg\")
Public and corporate interior green spaces like this one are common because of their positive health effects.
Photo Credit: Spaceo<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>- Indoor and outdoor green walls also can block out excessive noise<\/strong>, reducing a space\u2019s sound pollution (much like a privacy hedge<\/a> does).<\/li>
- Of course, as with any garden, there\u2019s also an aesthetic appeal to green walls<\/strong>. With the right plant selection, a vertical garden<\/a> can easily liven up any landscape or living room.<\/li> <\/ul>
If plants aren\u2019t your thing and low-maintenance is, a moss wall might be more up your alley. Like regular green walls, moss walls are vertical living garden structures that use moss rather than traditional plants. <\/p>
Many of these walls use preserved moss and folia (preserved plants). Moss walls:<\/p>
- Require no sunlight and need very minimal maintenance<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/li>- Have a long life span<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/li>- Like <\/strong>green walls<\/strong>, block out excessive noise<\/strong><\/li> <\/ul>
How Green Walls Work<\/h2>
To understand how a living wall functions, there are a few fancy terms you\u2019ll need to get familiar with. <\/p>
Substrate<\/strong>:<\/strong> A \u201csubstrate\u201d is simply the base on which an organism lives. When we\u2019re talking about plants, the substrate is the material in which the plant takes root (usually soil). <\/p>
Growing medium<\/strong>:<\/strong> In this context, \u201cgrowing medium\u201d means the exact same thing as \u201csubstrate.\u201d<\/p>
Hydroponics<\/strong>:<\/strong> \u201cHydroponics\u201d is a frilly scientific word that just means growing plants using water and nutrients, but without using soil. <\/p>
So, in a green wall system, panels create a vertical surface that holds the growing medium, or substrate. Depending on what kind of green wall you build, your options for growing media include loose, mat, sheet, or structural (we\u2019ll get into what each of those means in just a second).<\/p>
Some green walls use soil as a substrate, but many use other materials. Those that don\u2019t use soil work through hydroponics. Without soil, proper watering becomes imperative for a vertical garden. That\u2019s why most of them have a built-in irrigation system.<\/p>
Irrigation systems<\/strong> for <\/strong>living walls<\/strong> range from simple DIY drip irrigation with PVC pipes to automatic recirculation systems that reuse the same water over and over again. A recirculation system will make the green wall more water-efficient, but it\u2019ll also cost a pretty penny. <\/p>
![\"irrigation](\"https:\/\/www.lawnstarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/10548100026_ed34c50d3d_k-1.jpg\")
Most home green walls use a simple drip irrigation system, like this one, which is common for all types of gardens, not just vertical ones.
Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a> \/ Flickr \/ Public Domain<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Living Walls vs. Green Facades<\/h3>
Living walls and green facades may appear similar, but they are not the same. While living walls consist of plants that are rooted into a vertical surface, green facades are made up of plants with their roots in the ground, which naturally grow on a wall or fence (such as vines<\/a>, ivy, and other climbing plants).<\/p>
Types of Green Walls<\/h2>
The type of green wall depends on what material is used as the growing medium. As we already mentioned, the four types are loose media, mat media, sheet media, and structural media. <\/p>
Loose Media<\/h3>
Loose growing media really just means soil.<\/strong> For this type of green wall, plants take root in small mounds of soil in a bag or on a shelf. These are the easiest green walls to make, so they\u2019re common for home gardeners. <\/p>
One thing to remember about a loose media green wall: You have to replace the soil regularly. You\u2019ll need to change it out at least once a year for an exterior living wall and every two years for an interior one. <\/p>
![\"Small](\"https:\/\/www.lawnstarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Verticalgarden.jpg\")
Loose media green walls, common among home gardeners, use soil in bags or on shelves as their growing medium.
Photo Credit: Isupereco<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Mat Media<\/h3>
In a <\/strong>green wall <\/strong>made with <\/strong>mat media<\/strong>, plants take root in mats made of coir fiber or felt instead of soil.<\/strong> So, in this case, the mat is the substrate\/growing medium. <\/p>
Mat media is another type of living wall that\u2019s easy for home gardeners to plant and maintain, but beware. Coir fiber and felt mats are thin, so they don\u2019t retain much water. They also can\u2019t hold large plants with long, thick roots without tearing the fabric. These are best for small plants and small spaces. <\/p>
![\"Livingwall\"](\"https:\/\/www.lawnstarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Livingwall.jpg\")
In a mat system like this one, the greenery grows from felt, coir fiber, or a similar material instead of soil.
Photo Credit: M. Rehemtulla<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons \/ CC BY 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Sheet Media<\/h3>
Sheet media works similarly to <\/strong>mat media<\/strong>. Essentially, sheet media is the upgraded version because it consists of plastic sheets with an egg carton-like pattern that gives them more depth and texture.<\/strong> Sheet media retains water better than mat media and can hold larger plants without tearing. <\/p>
The other benefit to using plastic is that it won\u2019t decompose. Sheet media tends to last much longer than mat media. Sometimes, you can use the same sheet in your green wall for up to 20 years. <\/p>
Structural Media<\/h3>
Now we\u2019ve come to the slightly more complicated type of living wall system. Structural media is usually used for large, professionally installed <\/strong>green walls<\/strong>.<\/strong> That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t have one for your home, it just means you might need to hire a professional to build it for you. <\/p>
A green wall with structural media uses blocks of soil (or another substrate) as the growing medium. The blocks come in varying sizes, shapes, and thicknesses, so they can accommodate just about any species of plant you want. <\/p>
Structural media is another longer-lasting option. These typically last 10-15 years. <\/p>
How to Make a Green Wall for Your Home or Landscape<\/h2>
DIY green wall construction can get a little complicated, and it involves power tools. If you don\u2019t have a lot of experience with construction projects, you might want to hire a professional landscaper<\/a> to build your green garden wall for you.<\/p>
If you\u2019ve got veteran DIY chops and you\u2019re ready to make a green wall for yourself, check out this step-by-step video of a DIY living wall from Home Depot:<\/p>
- Have a long life span<\/strong>
- Of course, as with any garden, there\u2019s also an aesthetic appeal to green walls<\/strong>. With the right plant selection, a vertical garden<\/a> can easily liven up any landscape or living room.<\/li> <\/ul>
- Interior: An indoor living wall<\/strong> supplies the inside of a home or building with fresh, oxygen-rich air<\/strong>. They also filter out indoor air pollutants like VOCs. <\/li> <\/ul>
- Benefits of Green Walls<\/a><\/li>