What are The Benefits Of Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardening has many benefits or advantages over traditional gardening methods, as we will see listed below in no particular order. First of all however it would seem prudent to understand just what we mean by ‘Vertical Gardening’ because there are in fact 2 differing types of vertical garden techniques both of which claim the title ‘Vertical Gardening’.

The first type of vertical gardening revolves around the idea that plants can be grown in containers attached to frames or wall surfaces to create a ‘living wall’ kind of garden. The containers can be made from virtually anything that will hold soil or water enough to feed the plants, and used to plant both flowers or food plants.

The second definition of a Vertical garden is any plant that is grown in a vertical manner by attaching it to a framework to support the plant, which is typically planted in the ground soil. This is more a traditional type of gardening and has been used for centuries to grow climbing plants such as blackberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, as well as a huge collection of decorative flowers such as climbing roses or sweet peas.

Both of these methods however have many benefits whether it is for growing fruit & vegetables or flowers. Here below is a list of 6 benefits vertical gardening has to offer.

1. A vertical garden is easy on the back. It is a definite advantage of the vertical garden that there is not a lot of bending required to maintain the plants. Whether you have a type 1 or 2 vertical garden, both methods are especially good for the physically impaired as the plants are usually within easy reach. This makes harvesting the crops a real delight and not the painful chore it can be if you have back-ache!
2. Makes an excellent screen. The nature of this type of gardening means that it is ideal for forming a screen for privacy, or just for separating 2 areas of your garden or even patio. The vertical wall can even provide an element of soundproofing to at least muffle conversation.
3. More Productive than a traditional garden. Like most of the no dig gardening techniques the vertical garden is more productive overall than traditional row gardening. This is because the growing medium is more nutrient-rich than average topsoil (if you have filled the containers with the proper mix). Also because the plants are grown closer together you can have much more produce even in the limited space of the containers.
4. Reduce stress levels. It is now beyond any doubt that mental health suffers in our modern-day living methods. Growing plants or gardening in general has many therapeutic as well as physical health benefits and growing plants in this way is arguably the easiest and most manageable way to reduce stress and be productive in a healthy, sustainable way.
5. Health & wealth benefits of vertical gardens. It is widely accepted that there is no better vegetables than the ones that you have personally grown and tended for until ripe for the harvest. If you are an organic grower especially then you can know exactly what is in the vegetables that you have grown and eat in full confidence they are not laced with poisonous chemicals. As for the wealth side of the argument. Once you have bought your equipment (that will last for many years) then the vegetables you have grown will not only be cheaper over time, but they will be close at hand meaning that you have no trips to the store which is using up costly gasoline!
6. Environmental benefits. The fact is that by growing your own vegetables you are reducing your carbon footprint by several methods. You are not having to make so many trips to the store for vegetables if you are growing your own, meaning you are not adding to pollution from vehicle exhaust. All your vegetable waste is going onto your compost rather than the landfill. Growing your plants in this or any other way helps the very air that we breath as the plants filter and purify the air.  

What can be grown in a vertical garden?

There are not many plants that cannot be grown vertically, especially if you incorporate the 2 types or methods described above.

For example, potatoes can be grown in a vertical garden that is made from attaching containers to a wall or frame. In this way they can be grown vertically to form a ‘potato wall’. However you would not try and grow potatoes up a framework with the tubers in the soil – it would not make any sense and indeed you would end up with a poor crop of potatoes!

Likewise raspberries or blackberries are best grown vertically using traditional methods rather than plant them individually in pots or containers attached to a framework.

However the fact is that in theory at least you can grow most plants in a vertical garden – though it does not always make a lot of sense to do so if there is another method that best suits your situation. Square foot gardening (this article) or other no dig techniques such as lasagna gardening (this article) might actually suit your needs better.

Edible plants that make a good vertical garden

There are basically 2 types of plants that you may grow in a vertical container garden (type 1), edible plants and decorative plants. Some of the most popular vegetable or edible plants you could grow would include. Beans, cucumber, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, garlic, kohlrabi, onions, swedes, strawberries, peppers (sweet & hot) tomatoes, parsnips, peas.

For a type 2 vertical garden where the plants are planted in the ground, you may include raspberries, blackberries, climbing tomatoes, cucumbers.

Popular flowers to grow in a wall garden that will create an amazing backdrop to any patio would include – sweet peas, honeysuckle, climbing rose, climbing hydrangea, clematis, snow-in-summer, trumpet vine, wisteria.

Some excellent herbs to add would be – basil, chives, lavender, lemon balm, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme.

By following the general rules of companion planting (read about it here) you can create not only a highly productive vertical garden, but one that will amaze your visitors with its scents and visual appeal. This is especially the case if you have been utilizing this method to hide a previously unsightly backdrop.