Vertical Gardens reference info #2

Vertical Gardens
At the turn of the twentieth century, Gertrude Jekyll, inspired by the Arts and Crafts
Movement in Great Britain, starts planting vegetation in the cracks and crevices of stone
walls. Almost one hundred years later, Patrick Blanc, the pioneer behind the modern
vertical garden creates hydroponic living walls after observing how vegetation can grow
on soilless surfaces (cliff sides, rocks, tree trunks) in Malaysia. His vertical gardens can
turn the banal wall of a city into “a valuable shelter for biodiversity.” Patrick Blanc’s
Mur Vegetal manage to weave very natural ecosystems into the urban fabric in a very
dynamic and innovative manner.
www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com
Patrick Blanc’s vertical gardens were the catalyst for a new form of horticulture and
gardening. A great example of this is ELT Living Wall Systems, who are based out of
Brantford, Ontario. ELT began as a company that manufactured easy-to-assemble green
roof tiles, and now they also provide modular living wall panels for both pre-grown and
planted vegetation—all you need is soil and your plant of choice. The vertical garden tile
is made in way that will retain soil, but allow for the even distribution of water and
nutrients. The pockets slope downwards and have grooves that will push the water to the
back so that the roots can get the necessary food and stay moist. Water is poured into the
panel from the top and then trickles down to the bottom where excess water is caught in a
catch-basin.
The ELT living wall panels can be used to grow anything from ornamental grasses to
flowers to vegetables and herbs and can be arranged to created very interesting textures
and patterns. The panels are made of UV resistant 100% Recyclable black High Density
Polyethylene.
www.eltlivingwalls.com
The MFO park in Zurich Switzerland is an exemplifying project that uses the notion of
gardening vertically. Burckhardt + Partner and Raderscall Landschafts architekten
designed what has been dubbed an “urban park”, where a lightweight metallic lattice
structure has been built for the growth of vines. Visitors access the structure via stairs,
reaching a sundeck, loggias, and cantilevered lookouts that give an overhead glimpse of
the space below. At this lowest level are benches, pools, and the start of the vines
following cables that taper outwards in a conical shape towards the roof. Depending on
the time of year one visits, the vegetal "walls" are sparse, full, or colorful.
http://www.raderschall.ch/projekte/parks/mfo1.php
Jeff Koons, a well-known contemporary artist goes beyond the realm of the vertical
garden through the juxtaposition of something living placed on an object representing a
living organism. “Puppy” is constructed in a manner quite similar to Patrick Blanc’s mur
vegetal. A stainless steel structure works as the body of the dog, and is covered with
geotextiles which holds the plants. There is a complex irrigation system inside the dog to
keep the roots of the plants moist, and there is a trap door to enter the structure in case
something goes wrong with the watering system.