Reach new heights

URBAN GARDENERS CAN CREATE MORE SPACE BY THINKING UPWARDS, SAYS HANNAH STEPHENSON

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As urban gardeners look for more possibilities to maximise the potential of their small spaces, vertical gardening can provide some of the solutions.

Several gardens at last month’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival focused on vertical innovation, including RHS Vertigro, designed by Adolfo Harrison and built by Life On Walls, which aims to re-imagine the possibilities of the urban vertical planting habitat and its place in our ever-warming and polluted towns and cities.

It was one of the standout exhibits which showcased what could be done in an urban setting with limited space.

Life On Walls founder Armando Raish, who runs online courses on how to create a living wall, says: “As a general rule for living walls, suitable plants can range from ground covers, small herbaceous shrubs and ferns and grasses, with an ultimate growth height of 60cm.

“It’s best to use 10-15cm pot sizes, which will give the plants enough room to grow into the available space. One can even plant edibles, such as strawberries, tomatoes, herbs and more.”

Of course, if you want to grow climbers rather than smaller individual pockets of planting on bespoke living wall systems, there’s no shortage of trellis choices which will allow climbers, including clematis, roses and honeysuckle, to flourish in confined spaces, providing a boost of vivid colour and vibrant scent to smaller spaces.