DIY Vertical Garden

Ever since I(Kari) saw Flora Grubb's work several years ago, I've been smitten with the idea of a vertical garden using succulents. A visit to the musée du quai Branly in Paris a few summers back sealed the deal: Vertical gardens make me happy. I am alway happiest when I see "green" around me (the summers here in Visalia make me miserable because there is not enough green!) and I love how the vertical garden is so painterly---panels of succulents always end up looking like an impressionist painting. If you ask one of my good friends from my design program, she'll tell you that I am always looking to insert a bit of "living art" into my designs, the vertical garden being one of my favorites.

Here are some vertical gardens that I've been collecting in a file on Pinterest:

Source: notcot.org via Kari on Pinterest

Source: re-nest.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: lushe.com.au via Kari on

Source: floragrubb.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: floragrubb.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: plantsonwalls.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: fieldandsea.tumblr.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: snowsnow004.tumblr.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: lushe.com.au via Kari on Pinterest

I have long been wanting to attempt this project, and today was the day. I have been buried under a mountain of CAD work for a huge project looming, and after about five hours of staring at my project on the computer screen, I decided I needed a little Vitamin D and a break. It was sunny yesterday, and being locked away in my office was starting to get to me, so I decided to dive in and try this project as a way to escape the looming deadline I have coming up.

I purchased the supplies for this project at my local Lowe's. Now, admittedly, Lowe's doesn't have the most stellar succulent options, but since I am "testing the waters" a bit when it comes to this project, I decided to dive in anyway. I will be on the hunt for a wider variety of succulents now so my panels achieve a more "painterly" look, but I'm happy with the project so far...

I bought a couple flats of succulents in a variety of colors and textures:

I also picked up these nifty black plastic panels, specifically for planting vertical gardens. I was excited that Lowe's even carried anything like this!

You can see that when these are hung vertically, the little compartments are slanted to hold the dirt and the plant in place. These also come with the hanging hardware you need:

I started to fill the compartments in with soil and succulents. I still need to buy a little moss to squeeze into some of the voids. I think that will look good and will also kind of hold everything together even better.

First one complete! I laid it on the sidewalk and gave it a spritz of water. I will also let these chill on my patio table for about a week before I hang them up. I want the plants to get settled a bit.

I made two, and each one I filled in a bit differently. It's an "experiment"...I want to see which one I like better when they start to fill out a bit. (Again, I need to add moss to fill voids...)

I have three more panels to fill, and I'd like to build out some wood frames to put these in. They will be mounted on a very ugly empty space on a very average-looking fence in my backyard. I can't wait! I love them, and this project was super easy. Now I am off to find more exciting succulents...