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| If old King Nabu of Babylon was here today I wonder what he would think of our modern 21st century hanging gardens ? I heard that his garden was one of the 7 wonders of the world back in the day.
It seems that vertical walls of plants are all the current rage.
While on a recent trip abroad I saw some interesting construction techniques used in the making of vertical gardens, I thought I would share a few with you. At Gardens by the Bay in Singapore they veneered giant metal structures with bromeliads , orchids and other epiphytes.
detail shot of the installation method
Inside a massive greenhouse a giant hypertufa wall was made with planting pockets
detail shot
Large independent standing walls of plants divided a street and the entrance to a botanical garden
a detail shot of the growing / construction method
A simple but creative idea of using bromeliads against an otherwise blahhhh concrete wall
In the Singapore Orchid garden they wrapped large tubes with coconut coir and wired orchids to the armature:
Here they made a series of arches covered with orchids
This house used a hydroponic system - nice pad !
Detail of a similar growing unit used for the house above
I've tinkered with making a few vertical gardens , mostly I use bromeliads, ferns and succulents . Have you attempted a vertical garden , and if so, what kind of construction method did you use?
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by adriennemb z3/4 (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 12 at 21:25
| Wow, beautiful and so labour intensive - I think my favourite is the home with the "green" entrance wall. Is that display year round? Providing water and fertilizer for any of these applications must be a real ongoing challenge. Weeding would be a breeze though. I can never spell that dude's name either... |
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| Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. |
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- Posted by deviant-deziner Oh zone (My Page) on Tue, Aug 21, 12 at 16:56
| Hey Adriennemb, Yes, the living wall at the house pictured above is year round, though that's not a difficult thing to pull off in Singapore. ;-) I have never installed one of the hydroponic systems but they do seem like they use a fair amount of energy ( electric for pumps, fert and water ) to thrive. I find that the 'crate' systems are pretty easy to use as well as the felted wall systems , especially when using epiphytic plants such as bromeliads and tillandsias. |
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| I saw a several vertical garden applications in Sweden recently -- a very different climate from Singapore, for sure. In those huge paved city center squares so common in Europe, were "plant towers" on wheels sporting bright spring and summer annuals. The fabric pockets could be replanted seasonally, but I couldn't see how they were watered -- and the plants were in dire need of a drink that day. A cubist modern indoor/outdoor shopping mall featured an entire green wall at least 3 stories high, again using what looked like felt pockets. The effect was very similar to the house photo you've posted above. The drip irrigation appeared to be effective. In early September I will visit the Gardens by the Bay and Singapore Bot up close! Then on to Nong Nooch. Can't wait! Got more pix? Post 'em! |
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- Posted by deviant-deziner Oh zone (My Page) on Wed, Aug 22, 12 at 12:09
| Catkim, I hope that you will take photos and give us your impressions on Nong Nooch when you return . I was hoping to fly onto Thailand after Borneo but was limited by time and finances. I think that most of the hanging pocket plantings are irrigated with drip irrigation. I got some photos of the irrigation details but thought those photos might be too boring to post. I haven't gone thru all my photos yet from the trip but have uploaded some at my Picasa account. You're welcome to check them out. Link below. While in Singapore I think you would enjoy exploring Little India. That is where we stayed and I loved the thick aromas of curry hanging on the air, the vibrant colorful street life and hearing morning and evening prayer booming from the neighboring mosques. ( Perak Hotel) Do try and get to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The views are fantastic and will orient you to the city and especially to Gardens by the Bay. I also enjoyed Hort Park. Especially the 'silver garden'. Singapore is a city within a garden. Marina Sands hotel with an infinity edge pool and a garden on the roof.
The silver garden at Hort Park
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Here is a link that might be useful: picasa photo hosting
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- Posted by IshCountryGal z8 WA (My Page) on Thu, Aug 23, 12 at 1:21
| d-d, Amazing! Looks like some make-believe planet. Do you have a word or two which describes how you felt when you were there? -m |
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| Swedish vertical gardening examples -- these photos are in Malm�. In the first photo, you can pick out the round "flower towers" in the middle distance of the square, and then you can glimpse a bit of the framework in the second photo.
Shopping mall vertical garden:
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| D-d, thanks for the Singapore tips, much appreciated. It's going to be a short and mind-boggling, jet-lagged two days there. Silver and blue gardens have so much visual impact, and your photo is stunning. I would imagine you came home with your brain overstimulated by design ideas. SE Asia is the center of the hurricane when it comes to horticultural innovation. |
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- Posted by deviant-deziner Oh zone (My Page) on Thu, Aug 23, 12 at 10:52
| Hi IshCountryGal, The first thought that came to mind as I recall was , 'Please, gawd, don't let me get boob sweat'. It was a tad bit warm and humid. After that thought I was just in awe of all the fantastic garden scenes we were seeing. It was a tropical horticultural wonderland. Even neglected street trees had orchids, epiphytes and gorgeous birds nest ferns growing on them. Catkim, two days is better than one ! Enjoy the tropical sensory overload. |
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- Posted by deviant-deziner Oh zone (My Page) on Thu, Aug 23, 12 at 10:56
| Hi IshCountryGal, The first thought that came to mind as I recall was , 'Please, gawd, don't let me get boob sweat'. It was a tad bit warm and humid. After that thought I was just in awe of all the fantastic garden scenes we were seeing. It was a tropical horticultural wonderland. Even neglected street trees had orchids, epiphytes and gorgeous birds nest ferns growing on them. Catkim, two days is better than one ! Enjoy the tropical sensory overload. |
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| Great pics. Catkim, was the shopping mall in Malmo too? |
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| Love these pictures - especially the silver garden! Even a king with his own gardens would be jealous to see all those garden works of art. Hanging gardens of Babylon - do you think they were literally hanging or figuratively? I imagine them as terraced; I think because that is the way they are often rendered in art. I also wonder how many people walk right by the gorgeous shopping mall vertical garden and don't even notice it? Pretty sure I was that type of person once ;) |
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| Timbu - yes, the shopping mall was in Malmo. I visited Stockholm, too, where I took lots of photos of tulips. :-D |
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