What is vertical gardening and why should you consider it?

Vertical gardening is simply growing gardens vertically instead of down in the ground. Think hanging baskets, trellises and arbors. Vertical gardens are easier to maintain than traditional gardens because you don’t have to crouch to water or weed the plants. They save space, making them popular in urban settings where you may only have a small outdoor area.

Here’s how to build your own vertical garden with Plant Arounds:

Choose your structure

Fence? Trellis? Pillar? Plant Arounds can work on them all! We decided on a trellis in front of a screened porch. Placing the trellis in front a structure provides support without creating holes in the wall. Whichever structure you choose, make sure it can handle the weight of your plants and soil.

Hang the Plant Arounds

Once we set up the trellis, we planned where our Plant Arounds would go. If you plan on hanging the planters one above the other, like we’ve done, consider the lighting needs of the lower plants. For our vertical garden, we decided on a grouping of 5. The Plant Arounds have holes to hang flat against the wall or around a pillar or post. Once our screws were in place, we hung our Plant Arounds.

Fill your Plant Arounds

You can choose almost any type of plant for your vertical garden. Here are a few options:

• Low-maintenance succulents in various shapes and colors
• Tropical looking plants like bromeliad or winged begonias
• Butterfly-friendly garden with mums or pentas
• Trailing plants like calibrachoa or sweet potato vine
• Edible plants like herbs, lettuce or strawberries

For our vertical garden, we decided on herbs. Next, fill with a quality soil appropriate for your plant. Plant Arounds come with a plant lift which reduces the weight of the planter and the amount of soil you have to purchase. We topped the herbs with a little mulch for moisture retention. Once our herbs were planted we watered them in and discovered an added bonus to hanging our Plant Arounds in rows—the top plants’ drainage hole watered the plants beneath, meaning less water used!

Finishing Touches

We added a few finishing touches to complete our herb garden like DIY plant markers and mulch to landscape our new garden spot. We also placed whitewash planters with celosia and impatiens at the bottom to add a splash of color. Once you've added your finishing touches, take a step back and admire your handiwork!

No matter how small your space, you can start a vertical garden of your own. We’d love to hear how your vertical garden turned out or any tips you have for gardening. Leave a comment below or visit us on our facebook page!