Friday Five: Vertical Gardening

Written by Heleigh Bostwick    Friday, 25 January 2013

Vertical gardening using vines and climbers is a terrific option for adding greenery for anyone with limited space, whether it's a postage-stamp sized backyard, a terrace, or a balcony. Vertical gardening is also a great choice even if you don't have a tiny yard. Here's why: 1. Vertical gardening provides structure and architectural interest in the garden, whether they're trained on a series of wires, a trellis, a pergola, the side of a wall, or a lamppost. 2. Vines and other plants that are grown vertically take up less room. 3. Vertical gardens help create privacy in the garden through the use of vine "walls". Even if you don't have a tiny yard, you can use vines and climbers to delineate rooms within the garden. 4. Because they are off the ground, often at eye level, flowers and fruits are more accessible to people with physical limitations. But even if you don't, you'll appreciate that there's less bending over hen tending to the plants--and what better way to enjoy a flower's fragrance than to have it closer to your nose! 5. Vertical gardens often have fewer pests. Why? Because leaves and fruits are not lying on the ground thereby excluding these types of pests and many pests are not "climbers" either so they'll stay on the ground and look for other plants to pester. Recommended reading: Vines & Climbers Ortho's All About Vines and Climbers Flowering Vines: Beautiful Climbers (Brooklyn Botanic Garden 21st-C. Gardening Series, No. 158)