DIY Vertical Garden

Climbing roses need vertical growing space.

When most people think of flower or vegetable gardens, they think of plants growing in neatly divided ground locations, perhaps with picket fences or rock walls around them. When you're growing climbing plants, though, you must give the plants a structure to climb, and create a vertical garden. And not every vertical garden is an outdoor structure, or features climbing plants. It may also take the form of a "living wall," with standard plants growing on a vertical surface. If you're short on space, growing climbing plants or just want to add a new dimension to your home or yard, choose your favorite plants and try your own version of vertical gardening.

Things You'll Need

• Arbor
• Cord ties
• Hanging pots or baskets
• Quick-draining soil
• Organic compost
• Shovel or spade
• Nails and eye hooks
• Hammer

Instructions

Climbing Garden

1. Grow climbing plants on an arbor or wall to build a vertical garden in the yard. Choose a spot that gets full sun for eight hours a day, and has enough space for an arbor or has a wall or tree nearby. Amend the soil with a combination of half quick-draining soil and half organic compost, to build a supportive foundation for any climbing plant.

2. Plant any climbing, vining or "tumbling" plant -- bougainvillea, trumpet vine, angel's trumpet, climbing roses, ivy, grapevines or ferns. Give the plant its required spacing, but it should be within 1 foot of any wall or tree.

3. Place an arbor 1 foot behind the plant if you don't have a wall or tree. Train the plant to climb the structure as it grows by tying it to the arbor or wall with soft cord ties.

Living Wall

1. Build a living-wall vertical garden on an indoor or outdoor wall. Use 5-gallon hanging pots or baskets with drainage holes for a homemade vertical wall, and to give you flexibility. Fill the pots three-quarters full with a mixture of half quick-draining soil and half organic compost.

2. Plant your favorite garden plants, allocating one per pot. Choose flowers, vines, ferns, ivy, vegetables, pothos plants or succulents. Plan color-coordinated sections or choose vines to tumble down the wall.

3. Secure eye hooks to the wall or hammer in 4- to 5-inch nails to hold the pots. Place the hooks or nails so that the pots or baskets will hang against each other, to hide the wall.

References

• University of Vermont Extension: Grow a Vertical Garden
• The New York Times: Home and Garden: Gardens That Grow on Walls
• Washington State University Clark County Extension: Garden Mastery Tips -- Vertical Gardening