How green is my wall

  Gurvinder Singh

The shrinking urban space got homes and buildings rise up the sky. Now is the turn of plants to grow vertically. Don't let the lack of space kill your passion for gardening. Through innovative ways, one can create that green oasis, literally, at any place—inside your home or outdoors. Even on your wall!  

One of the ways to bring that verdant freshness right on the wall is the use of plantation on microfibre. These microfibres can be fixed on the wall, and shrubs can actually grow in the pockets made on the microfibre. 

"These pockets can be of any shapes and sizes, according to the plants to be grown in these," says Rohit Datta from Green Zone Concepts. "Any type of shrubs can be grown through vertical plantation, be it indoor or outdoor plants. Flowering plants and even kitchen garden plants like coriander, garlic, tomatoes, capsicum and more can be grown this way,” he says. 

"Not only such a wall freshens up the air, but also makes a dead wall literally come to life,” says Jaspreet. 

“Instead of artificial and decorative plants, real plants infuse vibrancy to the ambience. They also purify the air and add that much needed oxygen to it, she adds. 

The plants are watered through the use of drip irrigation and this water can be used several times, says Datta. This micro-fibre is very durable and lasts for years. These can also be used for pyramid mounts as well, without the use of soil, he adds. 

These are different from hydroponics, that don't require any soil, but in vertical gardening, some medium is required for bonding of the roots together, with coco peat and organic manure. 

“Though the concept of vertical plantation has been there abroad since long, it has started in India only recently,” says Juhi Bakshi from Technocare nursery. 

There are different ways to execute vertical plantation that suit all budgets. 

Interesting planters and garden ornaments made of wood, fibre and metal complement the plants. Frogs, a girl carrying a plant basket, or a nicely designed bicycle having a plant bucket on it, add to the beauty of the plants. “These can be used in place of a normal décor, thus adding real plants near windows and in living room,” says a plant lover.  

"Now vertical planters, with one planter fixed above the other, also allow a variety of species to be planted in the same vertical column," says Juhi. 

"I am using several of these planters that not only look beautiful but save space and allow me to plant a variety of different flowers at my place," says Amrit, a gardening enthusiast.