DIY: How to Make Your Own Living Wall

When creating your vertical garden, metal grates such as these are a no-fuss way to mount plants – as is wire fencing, which can easily be attached to a wall. With a setup such as this, plants can be mounted relatively simply, so maintenance is also a breeze.

When it comes to hanging or mounting your living wall, the possibilities are vast. For the handier types, consider building your own wooden frame that can be custom-designed for the space where it will be placed. Another option is to purchase a pre-made frame of wood or another type of material. Then, angled plant trays can be used, which hang like shelving and hold individual plants and can easily slide in and out of place for easy maintenance.

Devising your own vertical garden allows the opportunity to get creative by arranging differently hued plants in specific designs that become a one-of-a-kind piece of green artwork. Modular vertical wall panels make this DIY project easier than you’d imagine, as they come with an integrated support structure and typically provide enough room if you’d like to add a built-in irrigation system.

If you have the wall space, why stop at one? Here’s an example of an array of wall-mounted greenery combined in one space to create some truly unique decor.

If possible, install your living wall in an area that receives ample natural sunlight. If that’s not possible, then you’ll want to look at utilizing plant species that grow well with limited light, such as philodendrons and pothos.

Feeling ambitious? Here’s an example of an installation that is both a wall-filling piece of eye-dazzling art, as well as being living, breathing greenery that brings an organic, yet elegant feel to the decor of a home.

Those who are comfortable with woodworking can create a living wall similar to this one, in which a simple wooden frame holding receptacles for plants is attached to a fence or wall.

While living rooms and outdoor areas are popular spaces for living walls, there’s really no limit to where they can be placed, such as this installation in a spa-like bathroom. Battery-operated living wall systems are available that include integrated water tanks that need to be refilled once a month, with capillary mat fabric that utilizes wicking action to pull the precise amount of water from the tanks to the plants’ roots. Because it runs on batteries, there’s no plumbing or electrical considerations to contend with.

A popular DIY solution to create your own vertical garden is by using a wooden shipping pallet as the frame, mounted on a wall, with the spaces between the wooden slats filled with plants. Because the pallets are easily accessible, this allows the option of changing plants with relative ease.

Another simple way to create a living wall is to mount shelves on the wall, with the shelving holding a variety of potted plants. Not only does this offer ease of installation, it also makes maintenance and watering a breeze and allows the opportunity to change up plants in order to create seasonal displays.

A living wall need not be a major project, as demonstrated by these potted plants affixed to some vintage window shutters that have been attached to an interior wall.

Another easy way to bring a vertical garden into your home is to use a fabric system (such as those offered by Florafelt), which is easily affixed to a wall, with built-in pockets to hold the plants. Over time, the roots will grow into the moist felt. This system offers a simple way to change out plants when necessary.

This living wall project, from an episode of Backyard Builds, demonstrates a quick, easy hanging planting that can be attached to a fence.

Plastic tubes are filled with various small plants and suspended from a nylon line, hung on a fencepost in this Backyard Builds project. And when it comes to plant selection, homeowners aren’t just limited to ornamental plants, but can also integrate a vegetable garden or fresh herbs.

Also taken from Backyard Builds, this simple DIY project utilizes plastic soda bottles as hanging planters for colourful flowers.

A living wall is going to require water, so it’s a good idea to do some research ahead of time in order to select plants that require similar levels of watering to prevent some plants being over-watered, while others don’t receive enough. For homeowners who don’t want to deal with a lot of maintenance, there are self-watering systems that remove that element entirely, providing a living wall that is virtually maintenance-free.