Introduction: DIY Vertical Garden

A vertical garden is perfect for those who don't have consistent climate or the space garden. These types of gardens are an easy way to bring liveliness into a home or add aesthetics to a specific area. Certain plants can even purify the air.

Vertical gardens have been around for centuries but recently have resurfaced. Use of vertical gardens precede to the Babylonians. Romans trained grape vines to grow against villas to conserve space, making it a "living wall" or a vertical garden.

Step 1: Gathering Materials

The materials used can be substituted for different materials.

  1. 6.5" of Cedar Wood
  2. Frame Hanger Hardware
  3. Plants of choice
    • 1 String of Pearls
    • 5 Echeveria Succulents
    • 3 Mimicry Plants
  4. Ocean Forest Smart Naturals Potting Soil
  5. Spray bottle
  6. Poultry Netting
  7. Window Deck Coco Liner
  8. Wood Glue
  9. Soft Loop Tie Down Straps

Tools:

  1. Chop Saw
  2. Staple Gun
  3. Diagonal Pliers

Step 2: Building the Frame

This vertical garden was inspired by minimalistic, geometric design off of Pinterest. The size and shape can be manipulated as desired. For this particular garden, each triangle is an equilateral triangle with 11" and 11/16" for the sides. Each angle of the triangles are 60 degrees.

Use the chop saw, and if possible, set the angle to 60 degrees to cut the wood. Be sure to cut the angles opposite of each other, not parallel. Repeat this process until there are 6 pieces of wood identical to one another. Create a triangle and brace sections together using wood glue. Fasten with soft loop tie down straps and allow glue to dry for 24 hours.

After glue is completely dry, release straps and measure where the intersection will occur on the triangles. For this frame, the intersection is 3.75" in on each edge of the triangle. Take into consideration wood thickness so that there is minimal sanding to do afterwards. Adjust chop saw to 30 degrees because that is half of the angle where the the triangles will intersect. Cut each side of the triangle at 30 degrees, then take an inch off of larger portion of the triangle. Fasten with wood glue and soft loop tie down straps, and allow the glue to dry for 24 hours.

Step 3: Finishing Garden Frame

Sanding down the frame will flush the wood together and make the project much smoother. Use a lower grit first such as 80 grit, then slowly move up to 220 grit for the best results.

Cut the window deck coco liner to fit the inside area of the frame completely. The liner should cover the walls of the frame until it is about an inch away from the top. Use a staple gun to fasten the liner; do this process again for a second layer to be sure that the soil will embed into the coco liner.

After lining the frame, snip poultry netting to fit over the top of the frame. Staple the poultry netting into the frame, do not go over the edges but inside the frame. The purpose of the netting is to manage the plants efficiently and hold them into place.

Apply the picture frame hanger to the back of the frame as desired. Nail the picture frame hooks to selected wall identical to the placement of the hangers so the garden is not crooked or off center when placing the frame.

Step 4: Transplanting Plants

Have the selected plants nearby for this set of instructions. Set the garden frame on a flat surface then pour the soil into the frame slowly and lightly run fingers over the poultry netting while the soil is being poured. This will assure that there isn't any loose soil. Fill the frame up with 1" of soil.

Before transplanting the plants into the frame, snip the poultry netting to fit the plant. Hold the plant secure with one hand and turn the plant upside down, slowly wiggle the plant out of the pot. Then settle the plant into the frame and repeat this until your frame is full. Do not forget to stuff the excess space surrounding the plants with more soil until the soil is parallel to the coco liner.

Cut holes into more coco liners and wiggle the plants through the hole. This is to secure the soil and plants into place. Staple the coco liner into the inside of the frame once again, then spritz the plants and liner with water using a spray bottle.