Ikea goes urban gardening

Ikea goes urban gardening

http://compostier.blogspot.nl/




An Edible Worm Hotel 

 As an extra feature we added a vertical garden to this design. As experiment part of the hollow space in the backwall of the worm hotel was filled with mushroom-inoculated straw that we got from Mycophilia.

 The Oyster mushrooms could be very happy under the hanging leaves of the strawberry plants and other hanging plants. The layer of soil inside the vertical garden adds to the insulation of the worm hotel. This helps to keep the temperature high enough in cold times, and cool enough in summer. When the leaves grow they will offer shade to the backwall, helping to retain moist inside the wormhotel when it is hot in summer.

 The plants used in the worm hotel each have a function. Some are helpfull for the composting process, such as Comfrey. Others are edible. We planted Strawberry, Blackberry and even some Saffron.





Some Lavender was planted since it is said that fruitflies dont like the smell of it. Some ground covering plants were added to protect the soil and give less space to weeds. We are looking forward to see the fully green Worm Hotel in Springtime!

Making a Garden Barrel

Around the Home: #14 June 2014 Garden Update

Half-Pint Homestead Garden Barrel Construction
Around the Home: #2 Making a Garden Barrel https://youtu.be/TdHqc4CFoZM

moss wall

Kinglake Vertical Garden

http://lushe.com.au/regeneration-wall/

Kinglake Vertical Garden

On 7 February 2009, The ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires destroyed the Middle Kinglake Primary School, as well as surrounding schools in Strathewen and Marysville. The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that were burning across the Australian state of Victoria and resulted in Australia’s highest ever loss of life from a bushfire. 173 people died as a result of the fires and 414 were injured. Lushe were proud to be involved in the reconstruction effort.

Lushe’s Technical Manager, Josh Engwerda described the project “It was great to be involved in the reconstruction effort and be able to provide of a centre piece for the school”.

The wall was completed using 12mm marine ply followed by a water proof coating. The felt material chosen was made of 100% recycled plastic bottles, PET, and won’t rot or degrade with time.

Pockets were cut into the felt just large enough to hold the plants while keeping them nice and close together to give the wall an instant dense look

The plants were arranged in horizontal layers to accentuate the contrasting colours, textures and sizes of the differing foliage and flowers.

The felt was stapled every 10-15cm to create the required plant density.

The lights used were three 150W metal halides, the bluish colour of the light is perfect for foliage growth in most plants.

OSA Architects are leading the design of the reconstruction effort at Kinglake Primary Schoo. Geoff Stanistreet, Director, wanted a living wall for not just aesthetic reasons but to also assist in providing better quality air by processing the Co2.

OSA uses many ESD initiatives in its projects mindful of reducing recurrent energy costs to clients whilst providing comfortable indoor environments. Passive cooling and heating is foremost in our designs using products such as Smartroof roof air management systems and good passive design principals.

The plant list includes Syngonium spp, Aglaonema spp, Pothos devils ivy and Anthurium Schirzrianum to name a few.

The water reservoir and pump ensure the plants are well watered and then that water is collected and reused.

Lushe wish the rest of the Kinglake and surrounding communities the best in continuing with their reconstruction effort and rebuilding their lives. Lushe would also like to thank the support provided by the City of Melbourne for assisting with a grant for business development and expansion.

Patrick Blanc Dwell

http://www.dwell.com/outdoor/article/7-great-green-walls

7 Great Green Walls

WRITTEN BY:

KELSEY KEITH

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Not for the feint of heart, but for the green of thumb: A living wall is a vibrant way to celebrate nature in tandem with architecture. Peek through our archives for another look at living walls and vertical gardens.

Botanist Patrick Blanc designed this Paris aerie for the Dimanche family. Their indoor garden wall is 20 by 23 feet, dominating the living room in the best possible way. Photo by Jessica Antola.

Photo by 

Jessica Antola

Originally appeared in Garden Apartment

Photo details

green wall plants

http://diygreenwalls.blogspot.nl/2009/11/missing-woven-fabric.html



http://diygreenwalls.blogspot.nl/2009/11/super-secret-greenwall-plant-list.html

Super Secret Greenwall Plant List Revealed!

Super Secret Greenwall Plant List Revealed!

Venelin.Petkov said...

"Can you post a list of the plants you used and what nutrients are you using (I imagine you are not using pure water, since there are no minerals in the felt substrate). Thanks"

Llazar said...

"It would be great if could list the plants you used. Also, isn't there a problem of light? don't the plants need natural light in order to survive?"

People have asked me a few times now what plants I used and how I care for them. I'm happy to list what I can remember but honestly it doesn't matter as long as you match your plants to your wall. Each wall can be setup to provide varying amount of light, water, and nutrients. Patrick Blanc has used thousands of different types of plants on his walls. In theory almost any type of plant can work. I've even seen trees growing out of Blanc walls in Paris.

Each wall builder will need to decide how much light, water, and nutrients they want to provide. Here's a brief overview of my wall.

Light

I have pretty good light in the room but I decided to add some supplemental light from compact fluorescent bulbs. The lights aren't special "grow" lights. They are just regular bulbs. I think my wall would survive with out the additional light but the light helps the plants grow and makes the wall look nicer. Powerful artificial grow lights are available if you want to grow high light demanding plants.

Water

I water my wall 4x a day for 10 minutes a day (by drip tube on a timer). I had difficulty with the ferns on my wall drying out and dying at first. Originally I was watering 3x a day for a shorter period of time. I added a 4th time and increased the watering time to help the ferns. With the increase in water I saw an overall increase in growth from all the plants. If I had plants that needed even more water I'd make a larger basin and increase the frequency and amount of water.

Nutrients

I added fertilizer to my wall once in the time I have had it (just because a friend gave me some to try). I don't see the need to add more. We tend to trim our wall back when it grows out so more growth isn't required. We get new growth all the time so clearly the plants are getting what they need. Keep in mind that there is soil around the root ball of each plant. Also as the water trickles down the wall it picks up nutrients from the soil in each plant. At this point I wouldn't add more nutrients because my plants don't seem to need them. There are a variety of fertilizers on the market to suit just about any plant's needs.


Work with your local plant dealer to determine the plants that are right for your wall. Remember that on a small wall all the plants are in basically in the same environment so plants with different needs may die off. Also some plants cannot grow together. This can be determined from trial and error. Plant a range of plants with similar needs and see what does well. It's easy to add and remove plants from the little felt pockets.

Here's a partial list of plants I have on my wall listed in order of quantity.

Philodendron (35%)

Philodendron scandens “Green”
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=210




Pothos (35%)

Epipremnum aureum “Marble Queen”
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=224


Fern (15%)

Nephrolepsis exaltata “” http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=68



Adiantum pubescens “Maiden Hair Fern”
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=73

Asplenium nidus “Bird’s Nest Fern”
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=64


Nephrolepsis cordifolia “Lemon Button Fern”
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=71


Nephthytis (10%)

Syngonium podophyllum “Various”
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=320
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=188


Ivy (5%)

Hedera helix “Various”
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=133
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=144
http://www.exoticangel.com/Varieties/ShowProductDetails.aspx?productid=168

Vertical hydroponic tower garden assembly and set up

www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com

Patric is one of the pioneers of creating beautiful vertical gardens.

The interest for plants of expert botanist Patric Blanc started young :)
Check his website for more
www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com

vertical garden slide show

http://www.gardendesign.com/vertical-gardens-slide-show

Vertical Garden System

Flora Grubb Gardens

http://floragrubb.com/florasblog/?p=894

Outdoor Vertical Gardens

Everything You Need to Know About the DIY Panel for Vertical Succulent Gardens

Our vertical succulent gardens bring visitors to the nursery a sense of wonder, and many people are inspired to build and grow their own at home.

We offer for sale here in the store and in our Web Shop the same type of panel we use to create our own vertical succulent gardens. It’s a gratifying project to do it yourself, but you might want instructions, which we offer below.

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Hang the panels outdoors

While some succulents are capable of growing indoors, they do much better when they enjoy the sun and air circulation of the outdoors. The panels are built with slotted cells that allow the water to trickle from cell to cell and drain out the bottom, making them unsuitable for placing against sheetrock or other indoor wall surfaces. Drainage out the bottom poses a problem for indoor flooring as well.

How they are made

The DIY Vertical Panels are made of  a combination of all-natural coconut powder and coconut fiber, and food-safe HDPE, which is the same plastic used to make milk jugs. The combination makes the plastic flexible yet firm and reduces its impact on the environment. Each panel will weigh approximately 50-70 pounds when planted. The walls of the planting compartments are slanted to keep soil from falling out. Each compartment has slots that allow water to drain through from one cell to the next. The image below shows the structure of the panels but when you see them here in the nursery or buy them in our Web Shop they will be a toasted-coconut brown color.

How to plant the panels

The panels can be planted in two ways: plug-in planting and homegrown.

1) Plug-in planting

Each compartment will hold two succulents from 2-inch containers. One panel takes 90 plants to fill, and gives you speedy (but not instant) gratification. Allow the succulents to grow into the panel by maintaining it on a flat surface for a month (spring through fall) or longer (winter). In winter, take care to protect the garden panel from periods of freezing temperatures. Anytime the panel is being cultivated horizontally, protect from rain and hail.

After a month or so, you can mount the panel in its permanent, vertical position.

2) Homegrown

For a more economical and do-it-yourself approach, the panels can be filled with loose potting soil while they are lying flat. You can insert cuttings of succulents from your own collection in a pattern of your choosing. Be sure to keep the panels flat (and out of the rain!) for three to five months, in order to allow them to root in. You don’t want all your hard work to pour out when you hang it up! Most succulents grow more actively in the warmer part of the year.

Here at our nursery, we can offer pre-planted, established vertical succulent panels by special order only. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate requests for custom designs, and we cannot ship. Orders for pre-planted panels require a wait of between one and three weeks if they are available; availability is limited to pre-planted panels on hand at our growers.

Hanging them up

The panels measure 20” x 20” and extend 2 ½” from the wall. They come with a metal mounting bracket that screws into the wall horizontally. The panel can be hung from this bracket and is easily removable for watering and maintenance. Alternately, each panel has a pair of slots allowing you to insert screws through the panel and directly onto the backing. This can be useful for a more permanent mounting. The panels can weigh anywhere from 50 to 70 pounds when fully planted and watered. It is important to mount the panels to structural beams capable of holding the considerable weight of water-saturated soil and plants.

Watering and maintaining the panels

The panels can be watered by hand or by a drip system. The top of each tray has a little channel that perfectly fits a 1/4″ drip irrigation line. The slotted cells allow the water to flow from cell to cell and drain out the bottom. At Flora Grubb Gardens we water by hand since we can so easily reach them. We use a low-pressure spray and slowly wet the garden for a few minutes. Then we wait five minutes and repeat. We’ll do it one more time if it’s been particularly warm for a couple of weeks. We don’t water it at all if there’s been rain within the previous week.

How to create an installation with the panels

Flora Grubb Gardens does not create custom installations using the DIY Vertical Panel. Our installation here at the nursery was done by a contractor who started with a panel of MDO (marine plywood) as backing. He then mounted it with French cleats (included with each vertical panel) – a common construction method to “float” the garden off the wall with an air space behind it for ventilation. The frame on our own vertical garden was created by mounting the wood frame (redwood, driftwood, etc.) directly to the back panel of plywood after the panels were mounted. Use your imagination!

Customizing & modifying

The panel can be cut with a proper saw blade, but should be cut before planting along the lines of the little compartments to make sure all the soil will stay contained. Panels can be configured to create displays of any size, though it is important to consider the feasibility of care and maintenance for such a non-traditional garden.

Gardens like these can be created with the DIY Panel that can be purchased here at the store, or in our Web Shop.