Unleash the Power of Vertical Gardening in Your Cozy Oasis
When tethered to the ground, dreams will never have the chance to soar – and that goes for the big dreams you have for your garden too. Don’t let limited space on land keep your plant plans on hold. Prepare to be inspired, because I’m about to show you 12 vertical gardening ideas that will transform your small yard into an outdoor paradise.
Vertical gardening is just as it sounds – arranging various types of plants in such a way that they grow up or vertically. This can be achieved in many ways, from installing pots along shelves on an exterior wall to hooking hanging baskets on windowsills or training climbing plants to ascend trellises, railings, pergolas, and other freestanding structures.
Trellis Tactics
Typically adorned with mesh lattice, trellises are frames made to support the growth of climbing plants. They come in various materials to suit your budget – wood, heavy plastics, wire, and metal. You can affix them to an exterior wall, leave them freestanding to lean against another structure, or try one of these trellis ideas.
Experts at the University of Minnesota Extension recommend planting vines at the base of the trellis, weaving them in and out of the mesh while they’re young to train them to grow upward. Just leave the appropriate growing space between plants, as you would in any other garden setting.
Trellises offer some great advantages. For one, they can reduce maintenance – you may need to replace certain components like wood, wire, or metal over time as they decay, and you’ll want to prune back dead vines regularly. But overall, trellises make it easier to keep your vertical garden looking its best. And on the cost front, a trellis typically runs between $50 and $135 per linear foot, with the specific material having the biggest influence on the price tag.
Wall-Mounted Wonders
These green walls act as a form of container gardening – you simply affix pots or wall planters to fencing, your home’s exterior wall, or a freestanding structure. For an easy route, you can purchase an instant living wall online.
The beauty of a container-based vertical garden is that you can grow just about any plant, whether you’re starting a flower garden, herb garden, vegetable garden, succulent garden, or a mix. If your living wall is indoors, look for self-pollinating varieties or learn how to pollinate your plants manually. Perennials and herbs tend to work especially well in this vertical garden system.
Of course, there’s some maintenance involved – you’ll need to water the plants frequently (once or twice a day) and fertilize about every two weeks. It’s also important to deadhead blooms as needed and switch out plant types with each new season. As for the cost, many factors go into building a living wall, from weight and size to materials and plans. You can buy one ready-to-go for $30 to $80, not including the plants, or build your own for a similar price range.
Hydroponic Happiness
Using nutrient-rich water instead of soil, a less boxy style of the green wall can grow via hydroponics. Hydroponic gardens can also be grown inside piping towers and gutters. Systems for watering living walls might be as simple as a cheap DIY drip irrigation using PVC pipes, or as sophisticated as an expensive automated water recirculation setup.
The main advantage of a hydroponic living wall? Minimal maintenance! You only need to check on your plants every few days to ensure everything is operating as it should, since they have their own irrigation system. Just be mindful of potential issues like root rot, and remember to add water every few days as needed and change the nutrient basin about once per month.
Hydroponic living walls do come with a heftier price tag, typically ranging from $500 to $2,000 depending on size, difficulty, and plant selection. But you can opt for a less expensive, low-maintenance DIY version made from preserved moss if you’re feeling crafty.
Pallet Power
Into upcycling? Consider building a pallet planter. It won’t take up a lot of space, and your new DIY vertical pallet garden can be ready to use in no time. Just place pots or planter boxes inside the pallet, attach them to the slats, or grow plants directly inside.
Pallet planters can be used as edible gardens, provided the wood is safe. They’re a great choice for a vertical herb garden you can grow close to the kitchen. The maintenance is similar to other container gardens – check soil moisture often and water as needed (these can lose moisture quickly), and trim plants back as necessary.
As for the cost, you can often get free pallets from your local grocery store, hardware store, or lumberyard. Beyond that, you’ll need a few other supplies like a circular saw, landscape fabric, a staple gun, potting soil, and of course, your plants. In total, expect to spend $50 to $200, depending on whether you already have the necessary tools.
When planning your pallet garden, think vertically! Tall plants like tomatoes should go in the top row, vining plants like cucumbers in the bottom, and compact herbs in the middle for the perfect pizza garden.
Gutter Goodness
Another type of container gardening is repurposing old gutters or buying them new. PVC pipe can work too, but you’ll want to avoid growing edible plants in PVC, as chemicals may leach into the soil.
Gutter gardening is not only ideal for small spaces, but also a perfect project for kids. Its modest size and easy installation at a suitable height make it just right for a young green thumb. You can mount the gutters or pipes on a wooden fence, trellis, exterior wall, deck railing, or a freestanding structure, or choose to hang them by drilling holes in the bottom for proper drainage.
Maintaining a gutter garden requires vigilant watering, as the soil in container gardens tends to dry out quickly. You can buy or make automatic waterers to save time and effort. Frequent fertilizing and replacing the soil after each growing season are also musts. The average cost for gutters is about $4 per linear foot, plus the plants.
Cinder Block Chic
Do you like Legos? Then the cinder block planter is the ideal garden for you. These concrete blocks can be stacked so that the voids in them are used as planters, with the layers arranged in various ways to fit almost any space and height. An overhanging lip that grabs the block below is a common characteristic of landscaping blocks, making them excellent for raised garden beds.
Cinder block gardens are remarkably resilient and don’t need much maintenance. Just keep an eye on your soil moisture, as the blocks allow for good drainage and retain more heat with direct sunlight. You can even make your own automatic watering system by recycling water bottles to save time.
The best part? Cinder blocks are easy to come by and budget-friendly. You can find them for $15 to $40 per square foot when bought new, or even cheaper on local marketplaces or from recycled construction projects.
Towering Treasures
These tower-shaped planters can be used indoors or outdoors and have hydroponic or aeroponic systems, both of which use water only rather than soil. Able to hold several dozen plants, you can use tower gardens to grow fruits, vegetables, indoor herbs, and flowers.
Typically, a grow cage or external structure is required to support the weight of the fruits. Maintenance is relatively low – just clean the tower after each growing season and monitor the water levels in the tank, refilling as needed.
If you’re handy and want to build your own vertical hydroponic tower, the materials will cost you around $300. Or you can purchase a ready-made tower for up to $700.
Hanging Harmony
A quick and easy way to make your surroundings more beautiful or to fit plants into small places is to use hanging planters. Add color and texture to the ceilings and walls of decks, porches, and patios with flower-filled, lightweight hanging pots or baskets.
Incorporate climbing plants mixed with tall and clumping varieties for differences in texture and height. And don’t forget to bring your outdoor potted plants indoors before the first frost, keeping them as houseplants for the winter. Trailing ivies, feathery ferns, or succulents like string of pearls make a striking green display that hangs from the ceiling to maximize your vertical space.
Maintaining a hanging pot garden requires using potting mix over heavy soil and infusing it with a slow-release fertilizer. Water as needed when the soil feels dry to the touch, and deadhead blooms weekly. Expect to spend between $35 and $100 on hanging pots, potting mix, and flowers, depending on the size, features, and number of plants.
Pyramid Perfection
Tiered types of raised garden beds are perfect for vertical gardening. They can be built from various materials, including wood, metal, or cinder blocks – just avoid using pressure-treated wood in your edible gardens, as the chemicals may leach into the soil.
You can purchase a pyramid-shaped raised bed or build your own. If you’re doing a DIY project, you’ll need a saw, miter box, drill, screws, measuring tape, and a pencil. To start your plants off right, use a mix of topsoil, compost, mulch, and peat. For even more low-maintenance, install a drip irrigation system to keep the roots hydrated automatically.
A pre-made raised garden bed kit will set you back around $145 to $488, while building one yourself typically costs $18 to $39 per square foot.
Recycled Resplendence
Plants are fantastic because they can thrive in almost any container with the proper amount of sunlight, moisture, and nutrients. You can establish an original vertical garden from recycled materials using anything from old shoe organizers to paint cans, soda bottles, or even repurposed furniture like dressers, chests of drawers, or nightstands.
Hang a shoe organizer or other pocket-style piece from an exterior wall of your home, or mount bottles and cans to your fence. You can reuse milk jugs as hanging baskets. Caring for plants in a repurposed vertical garden is similar to caring for those in other container gardens – water and fertilize as necessary, provide appropriate sunlight, and deadhead blooms once they’ve finished flowering.
The best part? A garden like this will mainly come from the stuff you have around the house. You’ll only need to spend money on potting mix and plants, and the total cost can range from $30 to more than $100, depending on your needs.
Fence-tastic Flourish
Brighten up the look of a privacy fence with hanging or mounted pots, bottles, cans, or planter boxes. Not only can the flowers and greenery level up the color and texture in your backyard, but the varying hues and materials of the containers make your fence look more welcoming.
Using your privacy fence to grow plants opens up a new world of possibilities, like espaliering your fruit trees or letting climbing vines do their thing. Consider planting hops if you’re into brewing your own craft beer.
Caring for a fence-based vertical garden is a breeze, as the containers make it easier to care for individual plants. Water as needed when the soil feels dry, fertilize every few weeks (unless you’re caring for succulents), and deadhead flowering plants periodically. You can expect to spend around $40 to $50 for new pots, soil mix, and plants.
Ladder to the Skies
Another upcycling idea? Transform an old ladder into a vertical garden. The rungs can hold individual pots and planter boxes, and the ladder can be displayed anywhere – in your side yard, in the corner of your deck, or to spruce up the backyard. Ladder garden planters are an ideal alternative for a small yard or balcony, keeping the plants safe and fresh herbs close at hand in less space.
If you already have a wooden step ladder, you can reuse it, or build one from scratch using cedar wood. Once the growing season has ended (depending on your hardiness zone), replace the soil in the containers before planting for the new season. Some flowering varieties may need occasional deadheading.
As the ladder is something you may already have around the house, that part will cost you nothing. Containers and plants can range from around $50 to more than $100.
The Vertical Gardening Advantage
Vertical gardening provides easier access to your harvest, reduces the need to do so much bending, and helps maximize your space. Other benefits include fewer issues with diseases and pests, and a lower-maintenance approach compared to traditional garden beds.
Succulents make an excellent choice for any vertical garden or living wall DIY project, and a high-quality potting soil mix is a must for any vertical garden. Most vertical gardens are extremely doable DIY projects, but if you’re hoping to try a more complicated system like hydroponics, the help of an expert can ensure things are installed correctly and running smoothly.
So, what are you waiting for? Head to Today’s Gardens, your local garden center, and get started on your vertical gardening journey today. With these 12 ideas, your small yard is about to bloom into an outdoor oasis you’ll never want to leave.