Vertical gardening is nothing more than using vertical space to grow vegetables (or herbs, or flowers, even root crops), often using containers that hang on a sunny wall. Traditional gardeners have done similar things with climbing plants like squashes and beans for centuries by building trellises. Vertical gardening takes it one step further by giving non-climbing plants a space on the wall.
Vertical gardens take up less space, are easier to harvest, and easier to maintain. However, they do have their own limitations:
- You need sunny wall space
- If they are built too high, they can be difficult to maintain. Don’t make them taller than you can reach
- The support system must be strong enough to handle the weight of everything
- The supporting wall must be able to withstand a lot of moisture. You can use polyethylene cloth to create a vapor barrier along the back of your garden if this might be a concern.
That being said, vertical gardening is one of the most forgiving and flexible gardening systems. If you can already get a harvest from container gardens, vertical gardens should be no problem.
As long as you’ve got a blank wall or a bare fence that needs beautifying, you can tend edibles, annuals, even perennials with these vertical gardening ideas — all of which inspire high hopes for the season ahead. check out our favorite landscaping ideas.
Clay Pot Vertical Garden
If you’ve been looking to spruce up an apartment balcony, this clay pot vertical garden is a great way to add greenery without taking up too much space.
Get the tutorial at The Horticult
DIY Wood and Leather Trellis Plant Wall
With this trellis wall garden, you have the option to include several different types of plants.
Get the tutorial at Vintage Revivals
Copper Pipe Hanging Planter
Add a little flair and personality into your vertical garden with a punny sign and colorful string.
Get the tutorial at A Beautiful Mess
Ammunition Can Vertical Garden
Who knew upcycled ammunition cans could make cute planters?
Get the tutorial at The Horticult
Stand-Alone Wall
This vertical garden—built by affixing hex wire netting to a cedar frame—can accommodate up to 35 small terra-cotta pots (that’s a lot of growing potential!).
Get the tutorial at AKA Design
Hooded Tower Garden With Grow Lights
This tower garden is an exceptional choice for those willing to spend some money on quality and efficiency on the homestead! The one pictured here is using special glow lights to aid the process.
Get the tutorial at Nancy on the home
Indoor Hanging Herb Garden
Easily build this hanging herb garden in your kitchen window with wooden rods and curtain rings. You’ll love having your herbs readily available for recipes!
Get the tutorial at The Bird and Her Song
Hanging Glass Terrarium Planter
If you love succulents, display them in several glass orb terrariums. Potting the terrariums yourself gives you the freedom to pick many different types.
Get the tutorial at Adventures in Cooking
Hanging Planter
This hanging planter is made up of five wooden planks with openings that let pots dangle. The planks are spaced evenly between two pieces of rope and are secured with zip ties for a uniform look.
Get the tutorial at Survival Life
Recycled Soda Bottles
One person’s trash is another person’s vertical garden—here, empty plastic soda bottles are packed with soil and hung from a clothesline.
Get the tutorial at Dirt Asla
Strawberry Tower With Reservoir
Why buy dirty strawberries when you can grow them clean and fresh by building a DIY strawberry tower! The way these planters are stacked allows for optimal watering. You don’t only get fresh and juicy strawberries, this strawberry tower will also boost your garden landscape.
Get the tutorial at A piece of rainbow
Lattice Vertical Garden
This vertical garden has its very own irrigation system: At the center of the structure, there are two PVC pipes with holes drilled in them for even water distribution.
Get the tutorial at Decor and the Dog
Stacked Crates
Create a vertical planter pyramid! Keep the structure from becoming too precarious by reinforcing the stacked crates with wooden planks.
Get the tutorial at Little Green Dot
Ladder
For a decidedly less construction-heavy project, neatly stack pots on the rungs of a ladder. For a bit more flourish, add a hook for a hanging planter.
Get the tutorial at Small Town Rambler
DIY Wall Planter
Can’t decide on how small or large you want your vertical garden? You can have this wall planter take up as much space as you want!
Get the tutorial from Lana Red Studio
Leaning Bookshelf
Constructed cedar troughs are mounted to wooden sides and then stained in this crafty vertical garden project.
Get the tutorial at Ginger Snap Crafts
Minimalist Vertical Garden
If you prefer a clean, minimalist aesthetic, stacked cedar boxes attached to the side of your home make for a striking vertical garden.
Get the tutorial at Man Made DIY
Stacked Pots
This adorably kooky vertical garden doubles as a sculpture and incorporates a small bird bath at the very top.
Get the tutorial at Home Stories A to Z
Succulent Tray Vertical Garden
Similar to nursery flats, these rectangular, plastic trays are divided into planting cells, all slanted at a 30-degree angle with bottom holes that promote drainage and aeration. Each tray comes with a bracket for mounting, though you’ll need to add a wood frame to achieve the “wall art” look above. Plant them with succulents which have shallow root systems, are well-suited for trays with 2″ x 2″ cells. Opt for the larger 4″ x 4″ cells when planting small annuals, perennials, and edibles (such as lettuce).
Tower Gardens
Not DIY, but if you want to take vertical gardening to another level (both in cost and results), you could try a Garden Tower. There are both aquaponic towers that pump a mineral solution up the tower and drips it over the roots of the plants, as well as towers where you grow in soil
Get the tutorial at Garden Tower Project
Vertical Garden On A Exterior Wall
building our DIY vertical garden on a exterior wall of the house and build it as a stand alone “wall” instead.
Get the tutorial at Home made lovely
Mini Aquaponics Tower Garden
This mini aquaponics tower garden is described as a mini fish and plant farm for your living room! It’s such a fantastic idea for an indoor tower garden working on the principles of aquaponics.
Get the tutorial at Media matic
Shoe Organizer
A hanging shoe organizer doubles perfectly as a vertical garden: its pockets are the ideal size for growing individual plants and herbs.
Get the tutorial at Instructables
DIY Wood Vertical Garden
Get the tutorial at Red book mag
Upcycled Dresser
Rather than throwing out an old dresser, place it outside and fill it with soil. Stagger how far the drawers are pulled out to create a cascading waterfall-like effect.
Get the tutorial at GrizzlyBearModern
Pyramid Tower Garden
Build a wooden pyramid garden for an awesome angled finish. You will need to bring out your woodworking skills for this project. For a less costly or almost free pyramid tower garden, some wood pallets could come in handy.
Get the tutorial at Remove and replace
Hanging Buckets
This indoor vertical garden is constructed using only four basic materials: a cabinet door, hooks, a saw tooth hanger, and some pretty tin buckets.
Get the tutorial at Room 6 Design
Even More Gutter Gardens
Here’s another example of a gutter vertical garden attached to the side of a house. One thing to watch for when doing this style is to make sure there is adequate drainage so the siding doesn’t get damaged. This is a great setup for people who cannot bend over very far.
Pot Hangers
Hangapot.com — polypropylene supports that clamp onto the backs of pots — practically disappear when screwed into a wall or fence. Designed to endure high winds, each hanger can bear up to 100 pounds. Plant them with anything you’d typically put in a pot is fine, including kitchen herbs and annuals like the pansies and bacopa.
Rain Gutters
As these rain gutters (planted with euphorbia and creeping wire vine) demonstrate, salvaged finds can double as excellent, and unusual, vertical gardening systems. Just remember to drill holes in the bottoms of your scores, if necessary, for drainage. Other ideas for repurposed planters: burlap bags and shutters with slats wide enough for you to tuck succulents inside. Note: Before planting any edibles, make sure your cast-off container is nontoxic.