apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

absolutely adore this. i like the variegation of the top model. i am sure it's possible to create something very similar to this with potted plants. that would be easier to manage and disassemble. plus, with discreet potted plants, you could switch out the pattern and color when you wanted to.

Yeah that is a DIY i would love to attempt.

I just want to know what those "ecological materials" are. I think that's the key to putting one of these together. Although I must say, heather leaf's discreet potted plants is calling to me. . . .

I've wanted to make a green wall in my kitchen for years, but the giant problem I've yet to solve is how to light it in such a way the the plants will thrive, not get pale and spindly. Anybody have ideas?

Aulaire, thanks for the props. I'm sure you could get a small and unobtrusive yet beneficial growing lamp for your future plant wall. you could even shop around for a lamp shade which would be attractive to you (growing lamps are pretty ugly). Plants are hardy fellows and can take some level of neglect until you get it right. Also, look into plants which thrive on low light like pothos and ferns. That combo alone would be so pretty! If you do this, please post pics!

I keep asking this but... I wonder what the upkeep is on these. When the plants grow or die, does the company provide services for repotting? And how does that work? and dear goddess, how much does it cost?

And yeah, a modular DIY version would be supercool. I've been kind of tossing around the idea... the biggest problem is how to water it. On a small version you could just remove it from the wall, turn it horizontally and water (on the part that usually faces outward.) On a large version, you would probably want to water it from the top somehow. You could turn a bunch of pots sideways and drill holes in them and connect them somehow so water flows through... or, stack them up the 'right way' but drill holes on the side for the plants to stick out of!

Or, you could make it an epiphite wall (ie. tillansia bromeliads, orchids) and just spray it all the time. It would be great in one of my moms' bathrooms... bright but gentle light, and the humidity would almost take care of it for you.

What I do have is a lot of pots hanging nearly sideways from wires on a wall (outdoors) but each has to be removed and watered separately (or the water falls out.) It's a bunch of agaves - drought tolerant - so that might work. we'll see how it grows. (Yes, my wall is spiky.)

another thing I thought of is finding a shadow box from a thrift store and drilling holes between the little compartments, and planting up each cell. I'm worried about things falling out though... guess it would have to be displayed flat for a while till everything took root, or you would have to find a way to hold everything in (a sheet of coir fiber, such as you line a basket with? Sphagnum moss and a lot of fishing line?)

Hmm... my mom does ceramics... I wonder if she would build me something like a strawberry pot, but skinny and rectangular?

TONY recently featured a bargain basement version of this made with a hanging shoe organizer.

Theirs looks like crap, but I can see it working a lot better if you used hanging plants like the spider plants and ferns in the first picture that would cover some of the cheapish plastic.

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/apartments/49411/make-a-shoe-organizer-planter

Just using a fabric shoe organizer for the idea Cassie linked to and putting the soil in heavy-duty ziplock-type bags rather than directly into the pockets would improve the looks of that one a lot, and trailing plants, too.

I know of no one who can take care of one plant in one pot---with out killing it in a matter of a month. Good luck all you plant lovers out there.
I like the first one a lot---that second one looks like a salad for a big group of people.

These are SO MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE than Patrick Blanc's designs. LOVE THEM!!

Cassis - heyyyy that's a thought. silly of me... I knew someone who did this. And yeah, they would definitely need to be trailers.

Thanks for the ideas, Heather Leaf. I love chartreuse pothos. And with ferns, mmmmm, yummy, I think.

I have an old metal cabinet with glass on 4 sides, and I put antique art glass shades on the growing lights, and it's gorgeous, but I can't say the plants have ever done that well. I shall stay at the drawing board with the kitchen wall, though.

By the way, there's an article about an allegedly vegetation-filled penthouse in today's Home and Garden section of the NYT on line. I got very thrilled about reading it, but bleh. No big deal.