Regardless of where you live, I’m a firm believer you can take advantage of some of the many benefits vertical gardening offers.

The advantages of vertical gardens really come into their own in micro garden spaces where options are very limited but as most people live in urban areas, clever design ideas are a key to make the most of the space you have.

So if you’re not yet growing up, here are 12 reasons why you should!

Vertical gardens help you:

• Maximise Limited Space:  Increase growing space especially when it is at a premium in a very tiny area
• Create a Garden Room:  Some vertical structures like arbors, arches, pergolas and gazebos help create the ambience of an outdoor garden ‘room’ and can focus the eye on the mystery beyond.  They can also give a sense of height and depth to an otherwise small space.
• Grow a Privacy Screen:  Screen or disguise unwanted views (like boxy air conditioners and unattractive garden structures like sheds or compost bays), nosy neighbours and create more privacy.
• Increase Accessibility:  Plants are easier to reach – makes fertilising, watering, pruning and harvesting much more convenient and saves your back.
• Nurture Healthier Plants:  Getting plants up and off the ground improves air circulation = healthier plants and less pest & disease problems.  It also minimises damage due to pets or wild animals digging up gardens on the ground.
• Enhance Visual Appeal:  Improve the beauty of your garden and increase ‘curb appeal’ by adding character, variety, structure and colour. Create ‘eye candy’ by planting at eye level with vertical garden structures like hanging baskets and window boxes.
• Grow More Plants:  Expand the number and kind of plants you can grow in your garden.  Some vegetables like pumpkins that grow on vines and take up a lot of personal space, can be trained to grow up and over a trellis in a very compact space.
• Obtain a Higher Crop Yield:  Obtain a more productive harvest of food crops by growing up and using particular techniques like espalier.
• Reduce the Impact of an Urban Environment:  Soften hard or stark building and landscape surfaces by camouflaging with living green walls and other vertical design features.
• Define a Space:  Create an entrance, backdrop or framework; define boundaries and edges; and provide a sense of enclosure or seclusion.
• Create a Micro Climate: A living natural shield can insulate a building (from heat, air pollution or noise) and help to regulate temperature by cooling and shading an area.  You can also create a micro climate by adding a vertical structure like a tepee, trellis, pergola, arbor, arch or A-frame that will provide shade below.  The cooler spot under the support will suit shade-loving plants and sun worshippers will thrive climbing up and over so you get the best of both worlds.
• Improve Air Quality and your Health: Research has revealed that plants improve both indoor and outdoor air quality by removing harmful VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and absorbing pollutants.  Houses have been found to have consistently poorer air quality indoors than out, even with external pollution.  So growing plants vertically even in compact spaces like windowsills, balconies, front entrances and hanging in aerial space will make a BIG difference to your health.

Source: Article by Anne Gibson on The Micro Gardener