Make a vertical garden for your smaller space on a budget

Coming into spring, vertical gardens have never been more worthwhile. If you have a smaller space but want to grow herbs and flowers, they can really liven up your area and allow you to put your green thumb to good use.

If you don’t know where to start, here’s what you need to know…

You can install a vertical garden just about anywhere

Vertical gardens are extremely versatile and can be installed on almost any wall with a bit of sun.

They water themselves

Vertical gardens can either be watered from the top row to trickle down, or hand watered in each row. You will need to water according to the plants you use but vertical planters should be low maintenance overall.

Plants to use

Some of the best plants for a vertical garden are:

• Geraniums and hybrids
• Ferns
• Bromeliads
• Baby’s tears
• Basil or other herbs
• Succulents

But with that said, most plants can be grown in a vertical garden provided they have proper light, water and nutrient requirements.

How to start

1. Always fill your vertical garden with a good quality potting mix with soil wetter, water crystals and basic fertiliser to feed plants.
2. Once you’ve filled in the soil, water and let it settle for a couple of days as the potting mix will sink a little as the air moves out and you will need to top it up.
3. Remember to fill the vertical garden with soil when it is in position and not whilst on the ground.
4. Dig a little hole in the soil with fingers, place your plants or seedlings and cover roots with the soil.
5. Water plants in well with a good soil tonic such as Seasol. This will encourage new root growth and help them to recover from any transplant stress.

Where to buy

Holman GreenWall Vertical Garden Kit – $69 from Bunnings

Whites Outdoor 3 Pot Garden Up Vertical Garden Set – $67.73 from Bunnings

Copper Wall Planter – $15.00 from Kmart

Vertical Planter with Pots – $39.00 from Kmart

Vertical Metal Planter – $19.00 from Kmart

Vertical Garden Pockets – $10.00 from Kmart

Or you can make your own if you’re prepared to repurpose a pallet!

Tell us, do you have a vertical garden? Would you give one of these a go?