Wall Gardening

 

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Video Transcript

Chuck Denney (UT Institute of Agriculture)
A blank wall can become environmental artwork. Impress your gardening friends with your hipness by going vertical.

Dr. Sue Hamilton (UT Gardens)
“This is one way to solve space problems. You grow upward. You grow vertically.”

Chuck Denney
Dr. Sue Hamilton is director of the UT Gardens in Knoxville, and a fan of wall gardening.

Dr. Sue Hamilton
“I’ve seen whole city buildings covered in these living walls...”

Chuck Denney
Dr. Sue says a trend in landscaping is the use of living walls indoors and out. You can grow vines that attach to walls and fences, or you can build window box planters or containers like these that use trickle irrigation.

Dr. Sue Hamilton
“This is one that we built. You can buy these commercially, and you put several of these modules or units together. So you literally could cover a whole fence.”

Chuck Denney
Wall gardening has its advantages. We mentioned that it doesn’t take up a lot of space. But also it’s right in front of you. No stooping or bending if you’ve lost a little mobility. Outdoor wall gardening also reduces water runoff. And another plus - variety in what you can grow.

Dr. Sue Hamilton
“I could have easily put strawberries or tomatoes - so it could be your vegetable garden or it can be very pretty.”

Chuck Denney
Vertical gardening is also good for the environment. When a wall is bare, it absorbs heat. But cover it with vegetation in summer and it’s naturally cooled, reducing the air conditioning bill inside.

Nat Sound
“We have a frame, a ledge, and then a planter. Those are the three main components.”

Chuck Denney
UT horticulture student Morgan Sharp talked about going green vertically in her presentation at the recent House and Garden Show in Knoxville. Plants purify the air we breathe, removing pollutants indoors. Morgan says just about any plant works in wall gardening as long as its root system isn’t too big.

Morgan Sharp (UTIA Student)
“Well, what we’ve used inside is a lot of spider plant. We’ve also used a lot of jades - pretty much any indoor kind of plant that you’re seeing that’s small. You don’t want anything just huge.”

Chuck Denney
No one knows exactly where or when wall gardening got its start. Likely it was centuries ago. But it seems to be making a nice comeback in recent times. You can have beautiful plants inside and outside your home, and they never have to touch the ground.

END

NOTE: UTIA students and faculty also had a wall garden exhibit at the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta earlier this year.