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Bring More Green to Your Patio or Side Yard With a Living Wall
See vertical gardens that offer attractive — and creative — solutions to common design dilemmas
There’s something about having a lush tapestry of living plants in an unexpected place — clinging to the side of a city building or growing up the wall of a living room — that gives vertical gardens a real wow factor. But living walls are not only beautiful garden features, they can also be real problem solvers. In small urban lots, vertical gardens expand the planting area without taking up floor space. They can be focal points for outdoor rooms or act as living art indoors.
Whether you’re interested in adding a bit of green to your courtyard, dining room or home exterior, here are a handful of ideas for using vertical gardens to bring more green to your living space.
Whether you’re interested in adding a bit of green to your courtyard, dining room or home exterior, here are a handful of ideas for using vertical gardens to bring more green to your living space.
All the plants are within arm’s reach, making maintenance far more manageable than if the living wall were to extend up the entire front of the house.
Find a living walls specialist on Houzz
Find a living walls specialist on Houzz
Break up a White Wall
A living wall dripping in foliage breaks up the monotony of white walls and also creates a lush backdrop. In this courtyard garden by Randle Siddeley in London, a living wall creates a jungle-like backdrop for an outdoor lounge. In summer the living wall also acts as natural air conditioning, helping to absorb heat and cool the courtyard.
A living wall dripping in foliage breaks up the monotony of white walls and also creates a lush backdrop. In this courtyard garden by Randle Siddeley in London, a living wall creates a jungle-like backdrop for an outdoor lounge. In summer the living wall also acts as natural air conditioning, helping to absorb heat and cool the courtyard.
Create Living Art
Small enough to be hung just about anywhere, these mini vertical gardens by Lila B. Design made up of a mix of rooted succulents are easy to care for and highly versatile. Hang a pair next to the front door, place one at the end of a narrow city balcony or use some to decorate the side of a garden shed.
Small enough to be hung just about anywhere, these mini vertical gardens by Lila B. Design made up of a mix of rooted succulents are easy to care for and highly versatile. Hang a pair next to the front door, place one at the end of a narrow city balcony or use some to decorate the side of a garden shed.
Plant a Garden Without Losing Floor Space
Vertical gardens can be a space-saving solution for tight city gardens. For this small outdoor terrace in London by The Garden Builders, the planted walls save space for dining outside while still giving the feeling of being in a lush garden. Illuminating the vertical garden after dark extends its use into the evening.
Vertical gardens can be a space-saving solution for tight city gardens. For this small outdoor terrace in London by The Garden Builders, the planted walls save space for dining outside while still giving the feeling of being in a lush garden. Illuminating the vertical garden after dark extends its use into the evening.
Create a Space for Calm
In this New York City meditation studio, a wall of preserved moss and ferns looks like a surprisingly realistic representation of the verdant walls of a river canyon. One could only imagine that a visitor to the studio would leave feeling refreshed and revitalized after taking time for quiet contemplation in this environment. A similar tranquil feel could be created at home with a moss wall hung in a home studio, living room or bedroom.
Shop for preserved moss on Houzz
In this New York City meditation studio, a wall of preserved moss and ferns looks like a surprisingly realistic representation of the verdant walls of a river canyon. One could only imagine that a visitor to the studio would leave feeling refreshed and revitalized after taking time for quiet contemplation in this environment. A similar tranquil feel could be created at home with a moss wall hung in a home studio, living room or bedroom.
Shop for preserved moss on Houzz
Spruce up the Side Yard
Often a neglected area, a side yard can be turned into a meditative walkway or garden destination with the addition of a living wall. In this design by Charles C Hugo Landscape Design, swaths of plants in shades of green and purple create a beautiful wave-like pattern.
Often a neglected area, a side yard can be turned into a meditative walkway or garden destination with the addition of a living wall. In this design by Charles C Hugo Landscape Design, swaths of plants in shades of green and purple create a beautiful wave-like pattern.
Create a Focal Point
Use a wall of living plants as a focal point and enjoy the view both inside and out. Planting thick swaths of a single plant variety or foliage color in each swath creates a pattern that is bold enough to be appreciated from across a room.
Use a wall of living plants as a focal point and enjoy the view both inside and out. Planting thick swaths of a single plant variety or foliage color in each swath creates a pattern that is bold enough to be appreciated from across a room.
A close-up of the same wall, in the backyard of a home in Richmond upon Thames, United Kingdom, shows the bands of foliage used to create a striking diagonal pattern. The wall also screens the second half of the stairway leading to an upper terrace.
Add Life to an Apartment
Bring the outdoors in by adding a vertical garden to your living room, dining room or bedroom. Living plants help filter the air and energize the room as they grow and change. This Slovakian apartment features golden pothos.
10 Top Plants to Grow Indoors
Bring the outdoors in by adding a vertical garden to your living room, dining room or bedroom. Living plants help filter the air and energize the room as they grow and change. This Slovakian apartment features golden pothos.
10 Top Plants to Grow Indoors
Visually Expand a Small Lot
In tight outdoor spaces, blank walls and fences can make the area feel confined. A living wall spanning the width of this San Francisco backyard tricks your eye into extending the property boundary up the hillside and into neighboring gardens. While the same visual effect could be achieved with layers of planting, a vertical garden saves room for outdoor play and entertaining.
In tight outdoor spaces, blank walls and fences can make the area feel confined. A living wall spanning the width of this San Francisco backyard tricks your eye into extending the property boundary up the hillside and into neighboring gardens. While the same visual effect could be achieved with layers of planting, a vertical garden saves room for outdoor play and entertaining.
Bring Nature In
Use a vertical garden as a natural backsplash for your indoor tub or shower to get the feeling of bathing outdoors. In this bathroom by Stephen Fletcher Architects, preserved moss benefits from moisture in the air to stay just as soft to the touch as it looks. Since the moss is no longer living, steam from the tub will cause it no harm.
Use a vertical garden as a natural backsplash for your indoor tub or shower to get the feeling of bathing outdoors. In this bathroom by Stephen Fletcher Architects, preserved moss benefits from moisture in the air to stay just as soft to the touch as it looks. Since the moss is no longer living, steam from the tub will cause it no harm.
Reduce Maintenance
Perhaps the easiest living wall of them all, a pair of panels filled with a rainbow of air plants (Tillandsia spp.) requires neither soil nor drip irrigation. Naturally evolved to collect nutrients and moisture from the air, Tillandsia are a perfect choice for low-maintenance vertical gardens.
Perhaps the easiest living wall of them all, a pair of panels filled with a rainbow of air plants (Tillandsia spp.) requires neither soil nor drip irrigation. Naturally evolved to collect nutrients and moisture from the air, Tillandsia are a perfect choice for low-maintenance vertical gardens.
This particular air plant living wall by Living Green Design serves as the backdrop for an outdoor shower. The moisture from the shower (best to keep the water from getting too hot) is all the Tillandsia need to stay hydrated. For other applications and dry spells between showers, mist the air plants weekly or gently sprinkle them with a hose.
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More on Houzz
See more ways to enhance your side yard
Browse thousands of outdoor photos
Find a landscape designer near you
Shop for outdoor products
A living wall that covers part of your home’s exterior will ensure that your house stands out on the block — in a good way. The designers at Living Green Design planted a living wall around the lower doorway of this Victorian Home in San Francisco, which the owners use as the main entry.