Climbing Up: 10 Innovative Vertical Garden Ideas

September 18, 2014 by

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guest-contributor

I often think of vertical gardens as the utilitarian cousin of the decorative container garden. You’d love a vegetable garden, but your studio apartment in the city didn’t come with an acre of land. Enter the vertical garden. Focusing only on the utility of these gardens often ignores their creative potential.

The injustice ends now. Rise to the occasion with ten innovative vertical gardens that will inspire you to create that small green space of your dreams.

vertical-garden-made-with-pvc-pipesImage from Crest Hardware & Urban Garden Center

1. Repurpose Plumbing Pipes
Nearly anything that has an opening to hold dirt can be used as a vertical garden and that includes plumbing pipes. Whether the pipes are metal or plastic, you can turn them into an artful design with off shooting pipes that almost resemble trees.

vert 2Image from Buzzfeed

2. Create a Living Wall
Scotscape Living Walls specializes in creating vertical gardens that are essentially plants growing on a wall structure. The company not only creates designs, such as the stunning one pictured, but it also takes charge of the irrigation system, as well. If you choose to build a living wall in your backyard, keep in mind that the integrity of the wall you build on will be affected, so choose something sturdy.

vert 3Created by Inspired by Charm

vert 4Image from Self Sufficient Living

3. Turn a Wooden Box Into a Vertical Garden
Think of it as a garden box turned on its side. With a wooden frame, wooden back panel, some dirt and a wire screen, you can have a beautiful garden hanging on the side of your house. For step by step instructions, check out the blog Inspired by Charm. These wooden box gardens are perfect for succulents, as the plants have shallow root systems.

vert 5Image from Scotscape Living Walls

4. Use Hydroponics Indoors
Who says that gardening needs to stay outside? Forego the dirt and use gravel or water to create your garden indoors using a hydroponic system. While most indoor hydroponic systems span the length of a window, that’s not the case in this office space, which was designed by Biotecture who has their own patented hydroponic system to keep the plants thriving.

 vert 6Image from The Possibility Blog

5. Turn Recycled Bottles Into Containers
You can throw those recycled bottles into the recycling bin or you can turn them into your own wall garden. Simply cut out the side of the plastic bottle and nail them to the wall. Then you can fill each bottle with soil and small plants, like herbs. This particular garden is in a family home in Sao Paolo.

vert 6From Vertical Garden Design

6. Create a Thriving Garden Using Florafelt Planters
Florafelt planters aren’t only designed to hold soil and growing plants. They also make sure moisture is distributed evenly across all plants, whether you’re growing vegetables, flowers or herbs.

vert 7From greenUPGRADEN

7. Shoe Rack
While cloth shoe racks might not distribute water like florafelt, they’re a great and inexpensive alternative to florafelt. And they look just as interesting.

vert 8From Risse Greenhouse

8. Hanging Basket
Want to repurpose more of what’s around the house? Look no further than your hanging fruit basket. Or, take an old shower caddy and use that as part of your vertical garden.

9. Turn a Window Into an Herb Garden
Windows are the perfect place for an indoor garden, as you can control both the temperature while also giving your plants plenty of sunshine. To make a hanging garden, complete with terracotta pots (top of post), visit Homemade Modern.

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10. Mason Jars as Planters
Mason jars might be great for canning fruits from your garden, but they can also help grow your fruits, and herbs, too. To learn how to build this vertical garden, visit Camille Styles.

What’s your favorite innovative vertical garden?

Guest contributor, Kate Wilson, is an urban garden enthusiast who likes to think that she does as much with her 3×5 balcony as others do with sprawling acres. You can read more at her blog, JetFeeds.com, where she writes on writing and all things outdoors.

15 Comments »

  1. Prepper News Watch for September 19, 2014 | The Preparedness Podcast Pingback said:

    […] Climbing Up: 10 Innovative Vertical Garden Ideas […]

    — September 19, 2014 @ 14:03

  2. Allan @ BioGreenie said:

    These are neat ideas. I like the hanging multiple shelves since any extra water from watering goes into the pot below it. I would also add one long pan at the bottom (something like what you would soak wallpaper in). Good stuff!

    — September 23, 2014 @ 15:08

  3. Kate Wilson said:

    Glad you liked the post, Allen! And that’s a great idea! There are so many creative ideas out there for container gardens, but it seems like drainage problems are always the fatal flaw. I like your idea for solving the multiple shelves dilemma!

    — October 1, 2014 @ 11:43

  4. Green Up Your Space With Vertical Gardens! - Retractableawnings Pingback said:

    […] See these and more ideas here: http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2014/09/18/climbing-10-innovative-vertical-garden-ideas/ […]

    — October 2, 2014 @ 08:04

  5. Kevin Fernandes said:

    You tried something new!! Good for you! I’m always afraid
    I’ll mess up when I try new stuff. What made you decide to try something new? I’d
    like to get motivated. Maybe you have some ideas you can share.

    — October 24, 2014 @ 06:15

  6. Greg said:

    Lots of creative ideas here. I like the first image of the pots hung in vertical rows. Stephen Ritz is a teacher in New York’s tough South Bronx, where he and his kids grow lush vertical gardens for food. See his TED talk

    — November 18, 2014 @ 23:03

  7. What Is Sustainable Urban Living? | supe9259 Pingback said:

    […] will reduce the air and water pollution associated with fossil fuel energy production. Lastly, vertical gardens – self-sufficient gardens that take advantage of available vertical space indoors and outdoors […]

    — April 8, 2015 @ 15:30

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  14. thejellyfishbar said:

    I like gardening and I like all the idea you shared in this post. Very impressive post.

    — May 5, 2021 @ 01:52

  15. Four Practical Ideas for Greening Indoor Spaces - Urban Gardens Pingback said:

    […] Go Vertical! Sometimes all you have is one free wall, and that’s just as workable. As we’ve shared in earlier posts, there are numerous innovative ways to create an interior vertical garden. Installing a series of […]

    — April 24, 2023 @ 13:52

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