Grow a living wall : create vertical gardens with purpose : pollinators - herbs & veggies - aromatherapy - many more

163 Pages·2015·69.25 MB·English

A LIVING WAL
W L
GRO
CREATE
VEWRTITICHA PLU GRAPORDSEENS
Pollinators • Herbs and Veggies • Aromatherapy • Many More
SHAWNA CORONADO
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
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Acquisitions Editor: First published in 2015 by Cool Springs Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group USA
Mark Johanson Inc., 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
© 2015 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Project Manager:
Text © 2015 Shawna Coronado
Caitlin Fultz
Photography © 2015 Shawna Coronado unless otherwise noted
Art Director: All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purposes of
Cindy Samargia Laun review, no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission
from the Publisher.
Designer:
Diana Boger The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All rec-
ommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or Publisher,
who also disclaims any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific
details.
On the front cover:
Hydroponic Pollinator Garden We recognize, further, that some words, model names, and designations
(page 73), Shawna Coronado mentioned herein are the property of the trademark holder. We use them for identifica-
tion purposes only. This is not an official publication.
On the back cover:
Cool Springs Press titles are also available at discounts in bulk quantity for industrial or
Top, Aromatherapy Garden
sales-promotional use. For details write to Special Sales Manager at Quarto Publishing
(page 119), Shawna Coronado
Group USA Inc., 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
Center, Insulate-a-Wall Garden To find out more about our books, visit us online at www.coolspringspress.com.
(page 83), Shawna Coronado
ISBN: 978-1-59786-624-4
Bottom, Herbal Cocktail Garden Digital edition: 978-1-62788-620-8
(page 43), Shawna Coronado Softcover edition: 978-1-59186-624-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Coronado, Shawna, author.
Grow a living wall : create vertical gardens with purpose : pollinators—herbs & veggies—
aromatherapy—many more / Shawna Coronado.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-59186-624-4 (sc)
1. Vertical gardening. I. Title. II. Title: Create vertical gardens with purpose.
SB463.5.C65 2015
635—dc23
2014035466
Printed in China
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To my friends, family, and all The people who have decided To grow.
Do not give up. Keep learning and growing.
You can make a difference—I believe in you!
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CONteNts
7
Introduction
How to Make a Difference with a Living Wall
Part I Part II
How to Create Living Wall Gardens
Living Walls with Purpose

22 43
Which Living Wall System Herbal Cocktail Garden
Is Right for You? A Freestanding Herb Garden Planted
with Mixology in Mind
26
Tools That Help 47
Moss and Shade Wall Art
29
Low-Maintenance Moss Makes a Novel
Getting Started
Design Statement in Any Home
31
51
Watering the Living Wall
Vegetable “Balconies” Garden
32 These Hanging Veggie Boxes Deliver
Soil and Compost Fresh Food and Fresh Air
35 55
Choosing and Obtaining Plants Fern Garden
for Your Living Wall A Stunning Vertical Wall Solution for
Shady and Damp Locations
59
Cactus Living Wall
Put a Spotlight on Exotic Desert Beauty and Color
with an Arrangement of Water-Smart Cactus
65
Therapeutic Hanging Gardens
Two Simple Living Wall Arrangements that Turn
a Plain Gate into a Calming Garden Element
73
Hydroponic Pollinator Garden
This Beautiful (and Soilless) Flowering Garden Offers
Food and Shelter for Bees and Butterflies
79
Shade Pallet Garden
Bringing New Life to a Living Wall Using Some Old Wood
83
Insulate-a-Wall Garden
Use Flowers, Vegetables, and Herbs to Save Energy
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89
Bookshelf Fence Garden
Upcycle an Old Bookshelf into a Shady Living Wall
93
Succulent Living Wall
These Fleshy Plants Are More Popular than Ever,
Plus They’re Perfect for a Living Wall
97
Vertical Vegetable Farm
Grow Luscious, Fresh Veggies
Even in the Tiniest Spaces
101
Aphrodisiac Wall Garden
Grow Your Own Garden of Love
107
Freestanding Entrance Garden
A Pretty Project to Improve Curb Appeal
with Houseplants
113
Culinary Kitchen Garden
Grow Your Own Organic Vegetables and
Herbs for Cooking
119
Aromatherapy Garden
Invite Some Favorite Scents into Your Garden
to Improve Mood
125
Money-Saving Garden
Growing a Fruitful Garden from Seed 148
Is Practically Free Living Wall Maintenance
131 152
Smart Garden Online Product Resources
A Balcony Garden Can Help Increase Your
153
Attention Span in Your Home Office
Contributors
135
155
Colorful Living Wall
Acknowledgments
Build One Today Because Beauty Is Important
156
139
Conversions
Vitamin-Rich Culinary Garden
Fresh Herbs and Vegetables at Your Fingertips 157
Index
143
Urban Water-Saving Garden 160
Conserve Water and Make a Difference Meet Shawna Coronado
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INtROduCtION
How to Make a Difference with a Living Wall
IMAGINE A rEVOLUTIONArY PLANTING technique that lets you plant more than thirty plants in a floor area that is only one
square foot. The trick is simply to grow up, not out. Gardening with this technique is amazingly simple and easy to accomplish
for anyone, just by planting a living wall garden. Sited on fences, gates, walls, balconies, and even doors, living wall gardens
save enormous amounts of space, while producing an abundance of flowers, perennials, herbs, and vegetables.
I came up with the idea of planting more vertical mitigate urban heat issues, inspire therapeutic living, grow
or living walls on my own property when I picked up a aphrodisiac plants, contribute to your culinary kitchen, save
24-by-7-inch window box, did a little math, and discovered water, help beautify a community, help save the pollinating
that its footprint was exactly 1.16 square feet. Then I insects, and even help you entertain your friends. Do you
thought: What if I stacked five window boxes on top of one love herbal tea? Design a garden with all the herbs you need
another and fastened them to the wall? That 1.16-square- to make your favorite herbal tea blends. Imagine having a
foot garden would increase its planting capacity five times. cute little kitchen garden or cocktail herb garden that can
In about one square foot of floor space, I could plant nearly reside right on your balcony or patio. The point is, these
6 square feet of plants. This would enable me to plant distinct, self-contained gardens are just the right size to
between thirty-five and forty-five plants. How’s that for make any statement or develop any theme you want, from
efficient? And what if small-space gardeners all over the the frivolous to the life-affirming. With a living wall you
world would adopt this vertical growing method? That would can make a difference by creating something that is both
mean more food for the hungry and more flowering plants attractive and useful.
for pollinators. Planting vertically could truly help a family While the practical applications for living wall gardens
make a difference for themselves and their community. are virtually unlimited, for many people the best reason to
What else can living walls do? They can help save energy grow one is simply that they are beautiful and truly artistic
and reduce utility expenses, solve challenging design issues, conversation pieces.
← Are you concerned about bees and
colony collapse? Why not design a
lovely, flowering pollinator wall that
attracts bees and butterflies and gives
them a safe refuge? This is a great
example of what I mean when I say
“vertical gardens with purpose.”
7
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Living walls offer brilliant solutions,
such as creating privacy for home
gardens by blocking neighbor
sightlines into patios and balconies.
Plant Connection, Inc.
What IS a Living Wall?
A living wall is a self-sufficient vertical garden growing on Several other terms are used to describe a living wall. For
the side of a building, fence, gate, or balcony. Within the example, green wall is a common synonym for a living wall
living wall system is a structural support that is fastened system. Other names include ecowall, biowall, hydrowall,
directly to the supporting wall or fence that holds the vegetated wall, plant wall, or vertical garden. Within this
plant roots and soil system. It can be soil-based or book you will see both living wall and vertical wall garden
water-based, and some have built-in watering systems. used interchangeably to mean the same thing: most typically
Plants receive their nutrients from within the vertical a garden that can be attached to a wall or fence of some
structural support system. Garden walls that have plants kind or even function as a standalone multi-tiered garden
with their roots in the ground, such as walls filled with that is not directly attached to a wall at all. Living walls are
ivy or covered with honeysuckle, are not considered a remarkably versatile and afford the ability to grow in spaces
living wall. that are much smaller than the traditional garden.
More Fun, Less Work
Most living walls require far less work than traditional Another benefit of vertical wall gardening is that it is out
in-the-ground gardening. There is no weeding involved. of reach of many garden pests; it is pretty tough for a rabbit
Gardeners everywhere jump up and cheer—no weeding is a to climb a 6-foot wall and munch on lettuce. Some insect
reason to celebrate! pests can only get at the plants when they physically contact
Living walls can save you a lot of time. Many of the new the ground, and living walls are often hung well above
living wall products have self-watering systems to automate ground level. While growing a living wall does not guarantee
your watering. If they do not come with a watering system, that bad insects will stay away, chances are that you will see
it is easy to install one for your particular living wall fewer ground-related insects. A positive twist on this is that
situation. Because you will spend less time weeding and you will very likely see more flying pollinators such as bees
watering, you will have more time to do important things and butterflies, which you want to encourage for stronger
like read a book or drink herbal martinis with your friends flower and vegetable production.
or bike the Yukon.
8 IntroductIon
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