Inspired by the Obama portraits living wall? Not so fast.

[Demovictory9]

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In recent years, another type of vegetative art has emerged, called living walls or green walls, and which relies on pockets to hold the roots. Under the guiding hand of a bold designer, they can take a repertoire of fairly ordinary plants and turn them into a tapestry of stunning effect. The best are extremely photogenic and have thus infiltrated social media. This makes them coveted by folks who have little idea, I suspect, of how expensive and demanding they can be.

The curtain of vegetation veils its workings: Custom armature, a hive of planting cells, a computerized irrigation system and supplemental lighting. Many skip the soil — the plants grow in synthetic felt or the like and are watered and fed hydroponically.

If you want a sense of the challenges and rewards of the vertical garden, consider the Green Wall at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa. It was the largest living wall in the United States when it was built in 2010 and is used to decorate a curving corridor of individual restrooms. The garden consists of two walls — they face each other — and each is 13 feet high and 360 feet long.

Originally planted in coconut fiber, which proved too acidic over time, it was replanted in inert rock wool with fresh plants. Most are tender ferns, but the palette includes spider plants, philodendrons, spathiphyllums and the fluffy asparagus fern. The wall is a beguiling composition of 33,000 plants in contrasting textures and shades of greens. By using mostly ferns, flowering is kept to a bare minimum. It’s designed as a break from the floral extravaganza in the East Conservatory. “It’s the sorbet in a great meal,” said its gardener, Lauren Jenkins. “This space is a respite.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/inspired-by-the-obama-portraits-living-wall-not-so-fast/2018/03/05/5a42b876-1cb5-11e8-ae5a-16e60e4605f3_story.html?utm_term=.fececa2551ff

[PSPS]

1. Living walls

[Demovictory9]

6. Thanks. Will check out the video

[Historic NY]

3. I have a living fence to cover my neighbors ungly fence....

I use trumpet vine over trellis to hide off a side garden, in the summer the deer sleep in there. I have to prune these way back, ivy gets pretty thick and has to be contained.

[Demovictory9]

5. Sounds lovely

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. The birds must love it. n/t