Humans need plants to survive.
We eat, drink, make medicine, decorate, and enrich our daily lives.
It’s easy to get attached to our magnificent and leafy friends once we start taking care of a few houseplants.A collection of over 20 houseplants is not enough to meet your home greening needs. If so, why not take it to the next level with a full-fledged living wall?
Sometimes called a living wall, or vertical garden, the garden consists of an array of vertically planted living plants that range in size from just a few square feet to an entire wall of a large atrium space.
However, large installations can cost anywhere from $125 to $225 or more per square foot of wall, making it an affordable option for renters and homeowners on a tight budget or with limited space. is not suitable.
While you can certainly contract a company to install living walls in your home, you can also consider local or hand-made options depending on your budget, lifestyle and desired look.
Chiana McInelly Photos
Dominique Villarreal in front of the A Modern Plantsman living wall display.
Dominique VillarrealThe owner of A Modern Plantsman weighed his options when expanding the Colfax plant store into downtown Spokane in late 2021.
“My partner and I were researching the local botanical scene and quickly realized that Spokane lacked living wall installations,” he says. have no plant stores or nurseries.”
When Villarreal secured space for its shop on the main floor of the Hotel Indigo building, it began designing a wall of plants that would not only be eye-catching but functional for its customers. Created by Villarreal himself, the plant wall looks like a living wall, featuring wooden ledges deep enough to just hide the pots in which the plants are placed.
“It’s very viable for home use,” he says. “You can take the pots off the shelf for easy watering and cleaning.”
Villarreal recommends planting plants in DIY living wall projects, but also says that including plants of varying heights can give the walls texture and a varied look.
“Start with plants like pothos, heart-leaf philodendron, and prayer plant,” Villarreal says. “Prayer plants can especially cope with very dark situations. This is great for home installations. It hides the unnatural elements of the wall when it starts to crumble.”
previous owner Annecia Paulson, parent of Sage + Moss and seasoned houseplants, recommends utilizing organic elements when creating displays for easier watering and a more harmonious look .
The most common way to do this is to create a mounted plant display. A mounted plant is a plant that is fixed to an object using moss or other organic matter.
“Creating a mounted plant is actually a pretty easy process,” she says. Install it.”
The maintenance and care of mounted plants lies in the choice of wood, Paulson says.
“The best option is to use cork bark. It’s easy,” she says.
If you’re not comfortable with jumping in headfirst and trial-and-error, many local plant stores, including A Modern Plantsman, have work on how to create mounted plants and products to help you on your journey to creating living walls. We offer a shop.
“We try to act as a resource for people in our community,” says Villarreal. “We want to help people learn how to do these things. ♦
