2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Don't have time for a garden or just want a small corner of nature in the "stone jungle" of a metropolis? A great idea is to have a small garden on the balcony. To save space and originality, you can create a whole "living wall"
Today's pace of life and constant bustle are very tiring, the soul asks for rest and peace. This serenity can only be given by nature, which is mercilessly destroyed by rapidly expanding cities. Domesticated (or, to be more precise, "apartment") gardens can at least partially restore balance and mitigate the consequences of human activity. In their creation, modern designers have reached stunning heights. One of the most unusual options today is the so-called living wall or vertical garden.
Resourceful French
The idea of "vertical plants" belongs to the French botanist Patrick Blanc. Studying the world of tropical undergrowth, he came to the idea that with proper "nutrition" and sufficient lighting, some plant species are not at all opposed to growing on a vertical plane. An inventive Frenchman erects whole art canvases, the design of which changes with the arrival of the new season. He elevated the creation of a vertical garden to the level of high art.
Profitability and unpretentiousness
A considerable advantage of "living walls" is the low cost and ease of maintenance. Such flower beds can be placed on building facades, on walls, supporting elements or anywhere else as a free-standing structure. At the same time, there are simple installation systems that even a beginner can handle. All this makes creating a vertical garden a pleasure.
When choosing plants, it is important to remember that their foliage should create a solid green carpet. And the less “bald patches” on it, the more attractive the whole composition looks. With some skill, you can create an unusual pattern of flowers. In any case, both the lush wild garden and the strict lines of the drawing will refresh and diversify the interior.
Convenient capacity
Creating a vertical garden on your balcony begins with preparing a ground container. We attach four wooden blocks around the perimeter to a rectangular sheet of plastic of a suitable size. Be sure to treat the surface with an antiseptic and a special impregnation that protects against moisture penetration. The earth must be filled up by placing the box horizontally.
Having tamped and leveled the surface of the soil, cover the structure with a dense plastic wrap (preferably black). We fix it on three sides - we leave access to the top of the box. We place a metal mesh on top of the polyethylene and attach it in the same way so that the plants can be watered from above. By the way, it is worth placing a container under the structure so that excess water does not drain to the floor during watering. We attach the finished box vertically to the balcony wall.
Instead of a plastic container, products made of durable fabric, preferably green, are also suitable. From it you can sew a canvas with pockets in which the plants are placed.
Seeds and seedlings
Now you can start planting plants. To do this, we arm ourselves with the thickest knitting needle and make small holes in the film, where we place the seeds. If seedlings are used for landscaping the garden, then the holes for them should be cut with a knife, not sparing the metal mesh.
Some manufacturers offer ready-made plastic molds with honeycomb cells. Usually they have a convenient irrigation system through special slots.
The creation of a vertical garden in our climatic conditions can be fraught with some inconveniences. For example, in winter, some of the plants may freeze and have to be replaced. And in summer, especially if the balcony is located on the sunny side, green leaves may turn yellow.
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