Adding green infrastructure to buildings often means a green wall or facade, but another option is a vertical garden. From plant trellises, pergolas and hanging gardens, to balcony screens with planter boxes at the base, vertical gardens can be incorporated into all kinds of settings and buildings.
The design should be fit for purpose
A vertical garden can provide a restful haven, which can be especially welcome in built-up, noisy areas. Trellises or hanging gardens do not need to be complex. A simple system of vertical and horizontal wires may be all that’s required – the plants are the star of the show here!
Vertical gardens are a great idea where space is limited for plant growth on the ground. And by providing height, for example with a balcony screen that extends overhead, a 3D element is injected into the space, allowing visitors to be fully ‘enveloped’ within the garden.
The importance of the right materials
The stainless-steel cables we use in green infrastructure such as walls and facades are remarkably versatile, and they can be adapted to many kinds of vertical garden designs.
Trellises and pergolas have traditionally been constructed from timber, but the benefits of stainless steel include weather and rust resistance and longevity. It also has little if any need for ongoing maintenance.
Foley Rest Park – a classic example
Foley Rest Park at Glebe in inner Sydney showcases how a well-designed vertical garden can work. The garden was planned to provide a beautiful and restful shaded refuge for park visitors.
Tensile’s role was to create the stainless-steel structure for the climbing plants. For this, we used the Jakob range, installing more than 400 metres of stainless-steel cables in a trellis configuration.
As for so many of our projects – be they facades, trellises or catenary lighting jobs – our aim was for the structure to be as light and unobtrusive in appearance as possible. We consider it important for the structure to support the plant growth, while blending in seamlessly.
If you have a vertical garden project in mind, get in touch with our team today to discover how we can help.
