Green walls are everywhere, as said. Indoor and outdoor solutions, sizes, and models differ. Design and construction of green walls are constantly improving, providing additional alternatives for varied uses. This article discusses archetypes.
Indoors/outdoors
Different applications and environments use outdoor and indoor green walls. Depending on the space, they can be created of different materials and plants.
Green barriers are mostly visual. They can reduce temperatures, absorb rainfall, and insulate structures, but are usually utilised to provide greenery to urban areas. Living walls must withstand their climate, which might affect their structure and flora.
Indoor green walls are smaller since they must fit the space. They’re easier to maintain due to their limits.
Smart and active green walls are only utilised indoors because they can’t purify outdoor air. Tropical plants utilised in green walls would not survive outside their natural home.
Size/design
A living wall’s size is usually unrestricted. Wide models are easier to maintain than tall ones, but design and manufacture are similar.
Round living walls made of metal or plastic modules are tougher to make. Felt is best for circular and irregular shapes. Active green walls prioritise air circulation, limiting designs to solid modules.
Most indoor planted walls are wall-mounted, however free-standing and double-sided types exist. Commercial green walls are usually custom-made.
Where do the plants grow?
Living wall plants need a rooting medium. The growth media is subsequently placed on a system (such as bags, pots, or boxes). These combinations can be loose, mat, sheet, or structural.
Mat media are, as the name implies, mat systems, usually comprised of thin coir fibre or felt. Plants root immediately on the mat without loose medium (such as soil). Sheet media are similar to mat systems, but are made of patterned inorganic polyurethane sheets. Structural media combine loose and mat systems into a block that can be customised. Greenery can be grown in loose media, pots, and walls with built-in irrigation.
Soil, hydro stone, volcanic stone, and hydroponics are loose media systems. In the past five years, loose growth media has proliferated.
Rockwool or soil are utilised in traditional green walls. Hydroponics is tough owing to water quality fluctuations, hence these are the most commonly utilised components. Green wall producers use standard growth media.
Active green walls’ growth media differ from ordinary ones. They need an optimal material for ventilation, stable microbial ecosystems, and water systems.
Medium, supporting systems, and plants must operate together. This means media choices can’t be made in a vacuum.
If you are unsure about what kind of green wall you want to set up, seek out professional advice from your local landscape company.
