Bridgman Furniture & Outdoor Living BlogDIY Vertical Garden
Garden walls or 'vertical gardens' have gained a lot of notoriety over recent years with designers such as Patrick Blanc setting the standards. Vertical gardens can come in all shapes and sizes, some scaling entire buildings, whilst others sit in offices, gardens or private homes. Below I would like to show you how you can create your own vertical garden using a wooden pallet. This guide was inspired by Fern Richardson (Life on the Balcony) & Stephanie Lawrence (Design*Sponge), and the images are courtesy of Design*Sponge.
To embed, copy and paste the code below:
14 Comments on “DIY Vertical Garden”
Leave a Reply
Waterproof Cushions
Rattan Outdoor Furniture by Bridgman
Vertical Garden
DID YOU HEAR THE LATEST? 
Cool idea. I really like it.
What happens when a plant dies? Do you just rip it out and replace it with the pallet standing up? I was thinking about keeping pallets straight up permanently but not sure it that’s possible…?
@Lorrie – Thanks! The inspiration to create this came from Fern Richardson (Life on the Balcony) & Stephanie Lawrence (Design*Sponge)
@Summer – When replanting it would be better to keep the pallet at an angle, other than that is is find to keep the pallet vertical.
If either of you do this we would love to see images!
Really nice infographic, I spend quite a lot of time reading different blogs and it’s nice to come across something refreshing. Good work.
I would love to try this project out this summer. What kinds of plants do you suggest using?
Hi Lindsey, you can plant almost anything you like – but we’d recommend starting off with succulents or perennials.
This works very well for a salad garden. Plant mixed lettuce, a row of sweet radishes, button carrots, etc. On the top plant cucumbers and cherry or grape tomatoes. We call it our (meaning me and my salad stealing family) “the salad wall” mine hangs on the back wall of my fully covered north facing back deck. I hang a few 2 lt soda pop bottles (1/3 bleach, 2/3 water at the edge of the porch). The light refraction is amazing and that is how my plants get all the light they need.
Wonderful Idea… One thing I would like to offer: If you are considering using this for a salad garden or any edibles, please be sure to know the source of your pallet, or build your own “pallet”. pallets are like sponges, and aside from being treated with crazy chemicals like formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, and the highly toxic chemical called Methyl Bromide, which is used to treat insect infestations. (which can potentially leach into your soil) they are potential breeding grounds for dangerous fluids and bacterium. This includes Listeria, E. coli and salmonella. In fact, the concern about food safety and wooden pallets is well known, and the FDA has gone so far as to forbid the shipment of certain foods via wood pallets.
Thanks for raising this point, Tiller.
You’re right, caution should be exercised when re-using pallets for growing food. A quick Google search returns many articles explaining pallet safety and what to look out for when selecting a pallet.
I would really like to do this – I am lost, however. How do you put the landscaping paper on the pallet, AFTER you have fastened the mdf to the back?
Hi Joy, thanks for your comment.
The mdf board should be the same same width and height as the pallet (usually 120 x 100 cm), it can then be nailed onto the rear frames of the pallet. The landscaping paper needs to be larger than the pallet so that it can be stapled to the sides of the pallet – 140 x 120 cm should be ideal. The second from last photo shows how the landscaping paper should look when attached to the pallet.
I want to do this, this is very cool!
once it’s mounted vertically, how can one water the plants? is the top side open to allow watering?
It is indeed! Thanks for commenting :)