A vertical flower bed is a fairly simple and quite original way to decorate a garden plot at minimal financial cost and while occupying the least amount of space, which is especially important for small summer cottage areas.
Many people think that creating a vertical flower garden is a complex process. But in fact, such designs are quite easy to make, and even a novice summer resident can easily handle their production. In this case, the result will always look impressive and unusual.
Vertical flower beds, in addition to saving space in the garden, have other advantages:
- they significantly transform the overall appearance of landscape design;
- easily move from place to place, if necessary;
- quickly assembled and disassembled and can be stored in a shed with the onset of winter until the next season;
- do not require any special effort in caring for yourself.
But they also have their drawbacks:
- plants planted in flower beds of this type require regular, additional feeding and frequent, abundant watering;
- in the cold season, they are often subject to severe soil freezing.
It is for these reasons that flowers such as petunias are most suitable for planting in vertical beds. They not only bloom profusely and look beautiful, but are also resistant to various aggressive manifestations of the external environment and quickly take root in the flower garden.
But don’t forget about the simple rules for caring for such plants in order to preserve all their beauty for a long time:
- petunias need special long-term feeding, the composition of which is richly filled with useful minerals and all kinds of microelements, and abundant watering twice a day;
- It is recommended to add fertilizer with iron to water for irrigation to avoid problems with the development of various plant diseases;
- flowers also need regular trimming of faded leaves and buds, this allows new buds to form faster;
- It is better to place a flower garden with these plants on the sunny side of the site.
In general, caring for petunias does not require any special effort and even a novice gardener can do it. An additional advantage in favor of choosing these plants is the possibility of combining petunias with other flowers in the flowerbed, which gives a lot of scope for realizing your fantasies regarding the design of the site.
Types of vertical flower beds
All vertical flower beds are divided into different types, depending on their shape and method of fastening:
- wall systems;
- suspended structures;
- ground compositions.
Any type described above goes well with such an unpretentious plant as petunia.
Attention! When choosing a petunia variety for a vertical flowerbed, you should pay attention to those plant varieties that freely fall down with flowers, thus covering the base of the vertical flowerbed.
Materials used to create vertical flower beds
A vertical flower bed is a type of flower garden that does not require large financial investments to create. Any available means can be used as the starting material for making a vertical petunia flower bed, depending on the imagination and capabilities of the performer.
Important! You can, of course, buy special vertical containers for flower beds of this type in a specialized store, but often many summer residents, to organize the planting of petunia seeds, use various unnecessary things and other materials and make flower beds with their own hands.
One of the most popular materials for creating such a flower garden are decorative stones of various sizes and all kinds of cobblestones. A vertical flowerbed of petunias made from this material perfectly emphasizes the natural beauty of the landscape and looks especially good against the backdrop of various bodies of water.
A similar flower bed is made from galvanized mesh, which is laid out in the shape of a kind of snail, and the space inside this figure is filled with stones and soil, where petunia seedlings are subsequently planted.
Often, old, unnecessary car tires are used to make vertical flower structures, which are pre-processed according to a certain scheme: thoroughly washed, dried and painted with acrylic paint in different colors that match the design of the entire garden plot.
Car tires prepared in this way are laid in the form of a pyramid, tower or any other vertical figure, and filled from the inside with soil, into which, after some time, petunia seeds are planted. A distinctive feature of this method is that there is no need for a supporting frame; here, its role is perfectly performed by the tires themselves.
Old flower pots and unnecessary flower pots are also often used as material for making vertical flower beds. To create a vertical flower bed, they are installed on top of each other in such a way that a strong base mounted in the lower tier passes through all levels of the flower bed through a drainage hole made in each pot.
The main thing when choosing such a material is to choose the right size of the containers themselves (from largest to smallest) and keep the flower bed with petunias in the same design style as the rest of the area.
Another favorite and affordable material among many summer residents for creating vertical flower beds is large plastic bottles. They are pre-cut lengthwise, filled with soil, into which petunia is later planted, and fixed in a lying position on a wall or fence. In this case, the bottle caps are screwed loosely so that water, in the event of, for example, heavy rain, can calmly drain out.
Many people manage to make such a structure even from an ordinary bag or an old bag, filling a fabric container with soil and making cuts on one of the sides, where the seedlings are planted. The inside of the bag or bag is first lined with film, and the fabric itself is well quilted.
You can also build a vertical flower bed from a piece of unnecessary plastic pipe. To do this, the pipe itself is cut lengthwise, forming two equal parts with a gutter, which are suspended using a rope in the right place and filled from the inside with soil; Seedlings are subsequently planted there. In this case, it is also important to install restrictive elements on the sides of the improvised beds so that the soil does not spill out.
Or you can not cut the pipe, but bury it on a plot of land for a third of its length, filling the cavity inside it with a substrate mixed with petunia seeds. In this case, small holes are made in the pipe used, into which the plants subsequently grow, covering the base of the pipe, and a kind of irrigation system is installed inside it in the form of a pipe of a smaller diameter made of woven material.
To make vertical flower beds, many summer residents also use pallets made of wood or plastic, which are lined with netting on the inside and covered with straw or non-woven material on top. The soil itself is poured into the finished flowerbed, where seeds or seedlings of petunias are subsequently planted.
In general, the choice of material for making a vertical flower bed from petunias is limited only by the imagination and capabilities of the summer resident. Most gardeners manage to make vertical flower beds not only from the materials described above, but also using even unnecessary clothes or shoes, and other household items.
How to make a vertical flowerbed with your own hands?
Such flower beds are often made according to the following principle:
- the type of vertical flower bed and material of manufacture are selected;
- the base is made;
- an irrigation system is created, if necessary;
- soil for plants is laid, which is often secured with a net;
- and the plants themselves are planted.
To prevent the soil from spilling out, if necessary, you should use small plastic meshes or other restrictive elements, which will also help securely fix the root system of plants.
It is also important to observe the color combination of the flower bed. For example, a composition consisting of white petunia, planted with similar blue flowers, arranged in the form of a vertical flower bed, in pots stacked on top of each other, looks good.
In conclusion
A vertical flower bed made of petunias, made by yourself, is an ideal solution for every site, since it does not require large financial investments and easily fits into the design of any landscape.
The main thing is not to be afraid of experiments, and then you can really turn your garden plot into a real work of art.
Petunia is a beautiful flower that exudes a delicate honey aroma. Very often they are used in the design of decorative landscapes in gardens, summer cottages and city parks. With this option, there is a large number due to the huge number of varieties of petunias.
Today we will tell you how you can use it to decorate a flower bed in the garden and not only, as well as what other plants petunia can be combined with. Some examples include photos so you can see the examples in person.
Features of petunia
Few people know that petunia belongs to the category of nightshade plants, which also includes potatoes. Long time petunia grew like a wild plant and had no decorative effect, and only in the 19th century it was noticed by breeders who made hybrid ornamental varieties based on it.
There are more and more of them every year; gardeners love both old and new types of petunias. The most popular petunias for growing in gardens are ampelous varieties. In the photo you can see what they look like, their description is as follows:
The color range of petunias is striking in its diversity. So, their flowers are:
- white;
- red;
- purple;
- creamy;
- coral.
Due to the presence of a huge number of varieties, many hobbyists often use them to decorate their gardens. For example, arrange beautiful flower beds based on them. In the photo you can see examples of creating such compositions.
How to choose planting material?
The flowerbed in the garden is a well-thought-out composition where each plant has its own place. It is best to plant ready-made seedlings in a flowerbed according to the planned project. But sowing seeds in a flowerbed is not always a good solution, since many may not sprout and disappear during cultivation; accordingly, decorating the garden according to plan may not work out.
Petunia seedlings can be grown independently or purchased ready-made. If there are difficulties with the purchase, then growing it with your own hands will not be easy:
- strictly observe the temperature;
- the humidity level must also be maintained;
- carry out picking and pinching in a timely manner.
When growing petunia seedlings yourself, the process should begin in early spring. In that case the seedlings will be ready for transplanting into the ground at the beginning of summer. Also, a flower bed in the garden can be decorated faster with the help of petunias, but it is very expensive: buy large bushes and plant them where you need them.
Selection of location and soil
Petunia loves the sun very much and tolerates heat well. Therefore, in the garden you need to choose places for it in open sunny areas, which are darkened at midday with the help of a young tree, picket fence or something else. The plant will feel somewhat worse in places with a lot of darkness., where the sun breaks through only for half a day, or under the canopy of trees. But deep shadow is completely contraindicated for petunia; the branches will stretch out and the flowering will be very weak, as a result of which the flowers will turn pale.
For petunias you need to choose neutral or fertile soil. It is best to have sandy or loamy soil. But if the soil is heavy and clayey, this will not be very good for the plant: growth and flowering will slow down. The soil can be improved by loosening. To do this, it is dug up and fertile soil from another area or peat is added to it. Also, when planting in a hole, you can add a little baking powder, for example:
- perlite;
- vermiculite
How to plant petunias in the garden
Remember that petunias, especially ampelous ones, tend to grow. They have a developed root system, so To create a beautiful flower bed, you don’t need to plant densely. This can lead to plants fighting for space, as a result of which some will begin to oppress others. In addition, such planting density can provoke the appearance of powdery mildew and other fungal diseases.
To prevent this from happening, you need to maintain the following distances in collective plantings of petunias:
- small-flowered bush specimens should be planted at a distance of about 15–20 cm from each other;
- large-flowered – 20–25 cm, respectively;
- hanging - by 25–30 cm, respectively.
In some cases, ampelous varieties require even greater distance from each other. For example, the “Typhoon” variety should be planted 40–70 cm apart to make a beautiful flowering.
What plants can be combined with planting petunia?
To create a beautiful and attractive garden composition, petunias can be combined with each other by variety, or with other plants.
When planting flower beds in gardens, you need to choose samples that throughout the summer they are able to maintain an attractive appearance and tolerate heat well. An excellent choice would be flowers such as:
And the background of the composition can be low-growing deciduous plants:
- cineraria;
- coleus;
- chlorophytum;
- irezine and others.
In the spring, petunias can be combined with bulbous flowers, which dry the leaves for the summer:
- narcissus;
- tulip;
- crocus;
- muscari;
- grouse;
- hyacinth and others.
In case of drought, they should be dug up and replaced with other flowers, or these areas should be temporarily covered with decorative leaves or ground cover plants.
A flower bed with petunias under a tree will look even better if it is decorated with plants such as:
- hosts;
- begonias;
- daylilies;
- decorative cereals.
Flower beds with petunias can be planted in containers, then plants can be combined with lobelia, balsam, verbena, viola, pelargonium and other flowers.
Petunias in the garden: flowerbed design options
Design options for flower beds
We present to your attention several examples of designing compositions in gardens based on petunias. You can see some samples in the photo.
Monoclumba
The monoflower is the simplest composition, but very attractive. In its most strict version it means planting petunias of one variety, such a flowerbed will look like a monochrome spot. But if you place petunias of different shapes and shades on it, it, despite its name, will look varied.
Composition with a coniferous center
The monoflower can be complemented by an element such as a coniferous tree in the center, which has a clear geometry. As options:
- juniper;
- cypress
Raised flower bed
This composition gets its look due to the vertical walls. It has no bottom, but petunias are able to develop, just like in open ground. Ampelous plants are planted inside. The soil for a raised bed can be improved depending on the type of flower. To do this, it can be fertilized with the following components:
- baking powder;
- hydrogel;
- peat;
- vermicompost.
Planting pocket or mini-flower bed
Such solutions are suitable for paved courtyards, where there are small landing pockets between the slabs. Large-flowered bush petunia is planted in them, which over time completely covers the earthen spaces. Instead, you can take seedlings of ampels and surfinias, which grow much faster than bush plants and create ground-cover color compositions. Small flower beds will decorate the paved area and add new shades to the garden composition as a whole.
Round flower bed
For a round flower bed, take two varieties of petunias: purple and dark pink. It turns out bright and is planted in a circle. In the center you need to place a bush of orange marigolds. We plant bushes of low-growing coleus as a border, which will help keep the shape of the composition.
The height of the flowerbed plants decreases from the center to the periphery; the composition itself has the shape of a dome and looks slightly raised above the ground.
Vertical flower bed based on petunias
Petunia is a crop that grows well not only in open but also in closed soils, so they can be grown in pots and containers. Thanks to this, they can be used to create vertical multi-tiered compositions that are assembled based on different elements.
A vertical flower bed is made from a wooden screen; containers with flowers are mounted vertically on it. Another option is creating a flower tower, which consists of planting sections piled on top of each other. And the third method is to create an arched metal frame, which serves as the main one for attaching several large flower pots with petunias.
For ampelous flower varieties, containers should be as spacious as possible and have drainage holes.
Growing petunias this way is much more difficult than growing them in open soil. One of the problems is the limited volume of soil, which is not very good for the plant. For normal flower development, you need at least 2 liters of soil mixture, and for hanging plants - up to 4 liters, respectively.
How to properly care for the composition
Of course, a beautifully designed composition in the garden based on petunias is far from the end of the work on it. Naturally, it requires self-care in order to delight you with its flowering and beauty.
The first thing flowers need is regular watering and fertilizing. In the summer heat, you need to water the flowerbed at least once a day. It is better either in the morning or in the evening, when the sun is not too scorching. At midday, watering is also possible, but only if the composition is shaded. When watering, it is very important that the sun does not scorch the bushes, otherwise the burns will be too noticeable.
Fertilizers for petunias are needed for lush flowering. Here you can use mullein, ash solution and other organic matter, as well as mineral fertilizers. But remember that at the seedling stage, petunias need more nitrogen, and during flowering - phosphorus and potassium. If you plan to use store-bought fertilizers, pay attention to the packaging, which indicates the ratio of all macroelements.
Petunias will become a worthy decoration of a garden or plot, not only as part of a composition, but also individually. And if you follow simple care rules, they will certainly delight you all summer.
Recently, vertical gardening has become very popular everywhere. There is a lot to gain from the fact that petunias can be successfully grown in vertical flower beds, which you can easily make yourself with your own hands from scrap materials. If you have enough imagination and patience, try experimenting with plastic or, which is much more environmentally friendly, wooden boxes, plastic pipes, pallets, tires, flowerpots and other unusual, but quite suitable for the role of a charming flower bed objects. However, you can beautifully arrange a flower garden of petunias without resorting to vertical planting. Pay attention to our article and find new ideas for decorating your country flower garden.
Popular varieties of petunias for flower beds
Petunias are usually divided into several groups of varieties:
Choose varieties and varieties of petunias depending on the size of the flower bed itself and what color scheme you want to create.
Video: varieties and best varieties of petunia
Advantages and disadvantages of vertical flower beds
Naturally, vertical flower beds have quite significant advantages:
- very beautiful and great for garden decoration;
- save space as they do not take up much space;
- mobile - can be moved around the entire site.
But there are also certain disadvantages:
- flowers will grow in rather unusual conditions with a lack of soil, so this gives rise to the following disadvantage;
- regular watering and fertilizing are required;
- The soil can freeze severely at low temperatures.
However, vertical flower beds are an excellent design solution for decorating your garden and the area around your home.
How to make a vertical flower bed for petunias: step-by-step instructions
In fact, any vertical flower garden is made according to a similar scheme:
- The base and frame are created. If necessary, an irrigation system is created (for example, you can place drip irrigation inside the structure).
- The soil is filled up.
- Landing flower seedlings. You can also plant, , and many other flowers.
For example, to create a vertical flowerbed from a mesh with your own hands, you will definitely need:
Step-by-step instructions for creating a vertical flower bed for petunias:
- You need to make a metal frame from mesh, and its diameter should correspond to the pot. The cylinder must be pressed with ties around the entire perimeter of the connection.
- Next, it is recommended to wrap the frame with dark film from the inside.
- At the next stage, you need to fill the resulting tower with soil, lightly water it and wait for it to shrink, and then top it up.
- Add soil to the sides of the pot to give the tower more stability.
- Then you should make side cuts for the flowers with a sharp knife crosswise.
- And then plant petunia seedlings in these cuts.
Actually, here are step-by-step instructions for creating a flower tower with photos:
Video: how to make a vertical flower bed and plant petunias in it
Different ideas for vertical flower beds for petunias
There is a fairly large number of different materials from which any summer resident can easily make vertical flower beds for petunias.
Depending on the design and method of its attachment, the following types of such flower beds can be distinguished:
- ground (placed directly on the ground);
- near-wall (installed next to the wall of the house or fence);
- wall-mounted (hung on a wall or fence);
- suspended (suspended).
Naturally, the shape and general appearance of the flower bed can differ radically, because all gardeners have different ideas for designing a vertical flower garden.
Important! Whatever container or material you choose to create a vertical flower bed, do not forget to make drainage holes in it.
In a wooden box
A wooden box with a cascade of petunias on a personal plot will look quite organic. However, it is extremely necessary to treat it with a special solution that protects the wood from rot.
Initially, the wooden flowerbed structure looks like this:
Pyramid of pots
This delightful pyramid of pots will help to cheer you up wonderfully. More detailed instructions with photos for creating a pyramidal vertical flower bed in pictures:
From bags
It is unlikely that such a vertical flower garden will be able to survive heavy rain, or even more so, a downpour, but it is worth a try.
From plastic pipes
Someone might think that the plumber’s wife lives here (in such a garden), but is that bad?
Such a long, colorfully decorated flower bed can be hung on the fence.
Or install directly on the wall of the house.
In such a flower bed you can plant and
From pallets
Plant the petunia seedlings in wooden trays (closer to the edge) and simply stack them on top of each other.
From flowerpots
Take several flowerpots of different sizes and place them on top of each other in descending order so that the structure is as stable as possible.
From tires
Good old tires, you can make so many flower beds out of them!
By the way! If you want to make flower beds from old rubber tires with your own hands, then read
Photo gallery of beautiful ideas for designing flower beds for petunias
An extraordinary solution would be to make a frame from an old rusty iron ladder, install wooden floors and place pots of petunias on them. So much for homemade vertical gardening!
You can freely make a vertical cascading flower bed of pots on a metal frame.
If you have an unused old bath, then paint it with cheerful bright shades and make a wonderful huge flower bed out of it.
There is nothing to do in your garden old barrel. Isn’t it possible to make a flower garden out of it and plant petunias there?
Lay the barrel on its side and plant the flowers in such a way as if they spilled out from there or poured out in a powerful stream! If you don’t have a wooden barrel, then take an iron or regular bucket, just decorate it.
It will not harm nature, but will bring a lot of pleasure to everyone around you if old tree stumps with the help of flowers you will turn into colorful mushrooms.
The flower garden could not be better laid out and in hollow of an old tree.
Making an extravagant bicycle flower garden is quite difficult, but possible.
Here's an idea for a simpler petunia bicycle bed.
Flowerbed of petunias and marigolds
By the way, as for combinations, a flower bed with petunias and marigolds, which you can place in an old heavy-duty wheelbarrow, will look very beautiful.
Although in splendid isolation, these wonderful flowers in an old wheelbarrow will look quite original.
Of course, you can always make a very ordinary round flowerbed of marigolds and petunias.
In general, petunias go well with most flowers and plants.
Video: petunia flower bed ideas
Thus, you have many ways to beautifully design a petunia flower garden. Of course, vertical flower beds will look the most interesting and unusual, but you don’t have to get hung up on them, because there are so many other equally original ideas for garden design.
Video: petunia in landscape design - flower bed design ideas
Many people associate a vertical flower bed with something unusual. In fact, a structure of this kind can look completely different. Pyramids, arches, screens, columns - all these are varieties of vertical flower gardens.
Making a flower bed for petunias
Out of the bag
The presented option is easy to do with your own hands.
- Take a thick bag. Handles are sewn to it. The container is filled with soil.
- On one side it is necessary to make cuts every 20 centimeters. Plants are planted in them.
- The bag is then placed on a wall or other place.
- To prevent the soil from falling out, the inner surface is covered with film and the fabric is quilted.
Old bags can be used instead of a bag. You can also use canvas to create a living wall with your own hands and sew rows of pockets onto it.
From bottles
The presented option is easy to do. You will need washed plastic bottles without labels. The lids are wrapped loosely so that water can drain out if necessary.
A vertical flower bed is assembled according to the following algorithm.
- the bottle is cut in half;
- on its upper part a fastening is made of wire or rope;
- soil is poured into the upper part with a lid - a flower will be placed here;
- a plastic container will be installed at the bottom of the bottle;
- Then the structure is fixed to the surface to be decorated.
If desired, the product can be decorated.
How to make a vertical flower bed from bottles (video)
Application of car tires
A vertical flower bed for petunias can be made from an ordinary car tire. In this case, a frame is not required. Moreover, it is possible to install tires so that different sizes and shapes are obtained. For greater decorativeness, tires are painted with acrylic paint.
Classic version
Basically, gardeners prefer to make a simple version of a vertical petunia flower bed.
- A metal mesh is taken. A cylindrical frame is made from it. It is inserted into a pot that is suitable in diameter.
- Agrofilm is placed inside the frame. The end result should be a tower.
- The agrofilm should be fixed. Before filling the soil, a tube with holes is inserted into the frame; watering will be carried out through it.
- Soil is poured into the tower. Then it is watered so that the soil settles. This will fill the frame from the inside.
- It is also necessary to compact the soil in the pot.
- Next, the material is cut in the form of a “plus” (vertically and horizontally). Flowers will be planted in the holes. All that's left is !
You can see what the finished flower garden looks like in the photo.
Screen of flowers
An excellent option for making a vertical flower bed is horizontally fixed pipes. If you use heating pipes, you will need to drill holes for the petunia; if you use drain pipes, you will need side plugs.
PVC pipes
This option is optimal for growing petunias. The design includes two pipes. Holes are drilled in them. The inner pipe will be used to supply fertilizers and moisture, the outer pipe will be used for planting flowers.
The pipe intended for irrigation is closed on one side with tape. Among other things, it must be wrapped in non-woven material.
A watering pipe is inserted into the outer pipe. Then expanded clay and earth are placed. Plants are planted in the holes.
Using flowerpots
Any containers or flowerpots are a great option for growing petunias. The containers are threaded onto a reinforced base through a drainage hole in a checkerboard pattern. You can see what the design looks like in the photo.
Use of old pallets
This method is suitable for decorating a patio, balcony or gazebo.
- The base is made of plastic or wooden boxes, pallets that you no longer need.
- On the back side of the box, non-woven material or mesh is installed, which is sealed with straw.
- Next, soil is poured into the container.
- Then you can plant the plants.
It's important to remember that when planted in a vertical flower garden, petunias and other plants get little soil. It is necessary to select plants whose maintenance conditions are approximately the same. The best option is unpretentious species such as sedums, alpine flowers, moss, ivy, and bindweed.
- Petunia grows well indoors. The best option is to create. They are composed using several individual elements. You can use a wooden screen and attach horizontal containers to it.
- A convenient option is a flower tower. It consists of landing sections placed one on top of the other. You can take several flowerpots and fix them on an arched frame made of metal.
- Capacious containers should be selected. It is also worth making sure that they have drainage holes.
- Growing petunia indoors is somewhat more difficult than growing petunia in open soil. The fact is that the plant receives a limited amount of substrate. Ampelous petunias require 3 liters of soil, bush petunias - about two. A number of ampelous petunias grow up to one and a half meters in length, so a large capacity is required - 5-10 liters. We are talking about varieties such as “Opera”, “Typhoon” and “Tornado”.
- It is important not only to make a flower bed for petunia, but also to properly care for it. The plant requires watering and fertilizing. Watering on hot days is carried out once a day (in the evening or morning).
Ideas for your garden - vertical flower bed (video)
Making a vertical flower bed for petunias is quite simple. Moreover, the design can be of absolutely any shape. The soil in a vertical flower bed must be compacted. Petunia is planted with other plants with similar requirements. It is important to water and fertilize in a timely manner.
Reviews and comments
(No ratings yet)
Elena 09/11/2015
I liked the option of planting flowers in slits of black film. In general, I really love petunias; on the plot I built a flowerbed from three tires lying on top of each other. But I have to wait a very long time for the flower to grow and cover the rubber. Here you can simply plant seedlings more often and thin out over time so that the roots have enough space, simply cutting off individual plants.
Alena 09/18/2015
I love vertical flower beds like this, but I haven't done one yet. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet; I still need to spend time, which is chronically lacking at the dacha. But next summer I’ll try it, I’m wondering what other flowers besides petunias are suitable for such flower beds? Maybe someone tried climbing flowers, what came out of it?
Masha Maslennikova 02.01.2016
My mother grows petunia seedlings for sale and does landscaping for some organizations. We definitely need to offer her such a flowerbed. I am a little worried about whether the petunia will rot under such a dense cover; I want the aeration to be tolerable, so that the air flow to the flowers is good, otherwise a decent appearance will not be achieved. Again, problems may arise with the availability of watering, since watering must be done from above. How high can such a flowerbed be made and how labor-intensive is it to maintain?
Natalya 10/07/2016
Instead of black film, I use acrylic; you can water while the seedlings are growing, not only from above, but also on the flowerbed.
Add a commentEvery year, landscape design specialists offer new ideas for landscaping the local area. Vertical flower beds quickly gained popularity among owners of small plots, allowing them to decorate the surrounding space without taking up extra square meters. We will consider in detail what features you can expect when arranging non-standard structures, what they are made of and what plants they are optimally suited for.
Characteristic features of vertical gardening
There are two options for becoming the owner of a vertical flower bed: purchase ready-made containers at a gardening store or make an original design yourself. The second option is much more practical - using available materials, the created extraordinary flower garden will harmoniously fit into the landscape design of an individual plot.
Distinctive advantages of a vertical flower bed:
- Manufacturing the structure does not require significant costs; plastic pipes, bottles, chain-link mesh, car tires, boxes and other products that have served their useful life are suitable as starting materials.
- Various forms of vertical flower beds will provide attractive landscaping not only for the land plot, but also for the walls of house construction, fences, outbuildings, gazebos for relaxation or decorative arches.
- The compactness of individual types allows you to elegantly decorate small areas, including a balcony.
- Making a vertical flower bed is not difficult; caring for the planted plants is not difficult.
- Staying off the ground reduces the risk of pests entering.
Along with a lot of advantages, when arranging a vertical flower bed and further caring for plants, certain nuances should be taken into account:
- The limited amount of soil forces regular fertilizing for the full development of plants.
- Given the increased susceptibility to low temperatures, vertical flower beds require additional insulation. Lack of precautionary measures is possible in two cases: compact structures are removed for the winter in a warm room or frost-resistant annual plants are planted in them.
- Plantings in vertical beds require frequent watering.
The following measures can prevent soil drying out and plant death:
- At the soil preparation stage, it is supplemented with hydrogel, which ensures the accumulation and preservation of moisture.
- Make drip irrigation. The initial costs will be repaid by lush flowering over a long period.
- When designing a vertical flower bed, opt for low-growing species that do not require a large amount of moisture.
Note! A mobile vertical bed should not be large; When planting berries, make sure there is enough sunlight; Preliminary fertilization of the soil will ensure a high harvest of strawberries.
Pipe structures
Most often, flower beds made from PVC pipes are used for planting wild strawberries. To manufacture the structure, you will need pipes with a diameter of 50 and 150 mm. A product with a smaller diameter is intended for watering crops; its length exceeds the main frame by 10-15 cm.
Making a vertical flower bed from PVC pipes is quite simple:
- A pipe of smaller diameter is equipped with holes for water outlet.
- Burlap or non-woven fabric wrapped and fixed along the pipe will help to avoid clogging.
- The bottom of the watering pipe is covered with tape or foil.
- On the external structure, holes for plants are placed at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other, their diameter is 15 cm.
- A plug is placed at the bottom.
- The outer pipe is securely fixed in a vertical position, after which a smaller structure for irrigation is placed inside.
- The formed gap is filled with expanded clay or gravel to a height of 10-15 cm to form drainage, and the top is filled with soil.
- Periodic watering as the soil fills will allow you to avoid voids.
- At the final stage, plants are planted through the holes.
- Watering and fertilizing the soil is carried out through an internal pipe, which is closed when not in use.
In addition to strawberries, a vertical flower bed is ideal for extensively growing flowers: nasturtiums or petunias.
For a vertical flower bed, drainage or heating pipes are also useful. You can make an exquisite screen in two steps. The first is to put side plugs on drainpipes or make holes in heating products. The second is to make vertical hanging fastenings from strong ropes. Having installed the structure on the terrace or in the gazebo, you can fill it with soil and plant your favorite plants. This option of vertical gardening is convenient to dismantle during the winter cold.
Option with plastic bottles
Making a vertical flower bed out of plastic bottles is another inexpensive way to decorate your property. Before using them as containers, the products are thoroughly washed and labels removed. It is most convenient to use plastic dishes to decorate the fence. As with pipes, bottles for a vertical flower bed can be positioned in different ways.
The first method involves the following steps:
- A container, preferably 2.0-2.5 liters in volume, is cut in half.
- The upper half is equipped with a wire fastening, then soil is poured into it and seedlings are planted.
- The container with the plant is inserted into the lower half of the bottle, and the entire set is attached to the surface that needs decoration.
Advice ! The cork in the bottle should not be screwed tightly, ensuring the drainage of excess liquid when watering a vertical flower bed.
Instead of plastic bottles, you can make an interesting flower bed from tin cans or flowerpots, after taking care of the drainage holes. Painting containers with aerosol or acrylic paints will help add bright touches to a vertical flower bed.
The second method involves placing plastic bottles horizontally. A rectangular hole is cut out on one side to fill in the soil and plant flowers; on the opposite side, holes must be made to drain excess moisture. Using an awl, the bottom and neck of the bottle are also equipped with holes through which a rope is threaded; a reliable knot is formed from below, securing the container at the height required for a vertical flower bed. Initially, a kind of screen has an unpresentable appearance, but later the overgrown plants will successfully disguise homemade plastic containers.
Representatives of hanging plants are not suitable for such containers due to insufficient soil volume. It is better to decorate the screen on the fence with greenery with a small root system. Mattiola, lobelia or minitunia are the optimal solution for a vertical flower bed in plastic bottles.
Applying a grid
Planted in vertical flower beds, the basis of which are nets, allow you to elegantly decorate your landscape design. Most often the design has the shape of a tower, but if you show your imagination, you can make a cube, a ball or an animal figure.
The process of equipping a vertical flower bed from a mesh includes the following steps:
- Four columns of the required height are inserted into the ground.
- A cylinder is formed around them from a mesh with geotextiles, the edges are securely fixed with wire.
- The center of the vertical flower bed is equipped with two irrigation tubes, in which holes for water supply are pre-prepared, located in a checkerboard pattern.
- At the next stage of forming a vertical flower bed, the mesh form is filled with soil with the addition of raising agents. Vermiculite or perlite are suitable for this role. There are also hygroscopic materials in the form of special technical wool or sphagnum moss.
- After filling the container in geotextile (it is successfully replaced by lutrasil), holes should be made through which seedlings of suitable colors are planted.
A budget alternative to geotextiles in a vertical mesh flowerbed can be ordinary polyethylene film. Alternatively, the mesh is not wrapped around the posts, but is inserted into a voluminous flowerpot, but then additional care should be taken to ensure its stability.
In addition to the exquisite “Rambler” or “Opera” petunias, nasturtiums or remontant ampelous strawberries are suitable for a mesh vertical flowerbed. A vertical flowerbed in the shape of a tower, strewn with pink or white flowers mixed with berries, is an original decoration of landscape design.
Other methods of arranging vertical plantings
Looking around, you can make a flowerbed with a non-standard arrangement from various materials that are present in abundance at your summer cottage.
Boxes and pallets
Landscape design specialists suggest creating an original picture of compact green spaces using an old pallet or plastic box. A mesh is attached inside the container, sealed with non-woven fabric or straw, after which the container is filled with soil with the addition of sphagnum moss, which acts as a hydrogel. At the final stage, seeds or seedlings are planted. As in the previous option, unpretentious garden succulents are optimal for a vertical flower bed in the shape of a small picture. You can make such a design for a balcony or decorate a fence with several copies.
The second option for using boxes is to design a flower bed in the form of a pyramid. The basis of the vertical decoration consists of a large wooden frame. After filling with soil, a smaller container is placed on top. It is better to make the height not exceed human height, so that caring for a vertical flower bed does not bring additional inconvenience. Watering of this design can be traditional or drip. In the second case, the center of the flowerbed is pre-equipped with a vertical pipe with holes for irrigation.
Car tires and pots
The simplest and most cost-effective option is to arrange car tires in a pyramidal staggered pattern. The size and shape of a vertical flower bed varies solely based on the wishes of the owner of the site. Opening the material with acrylic paints will help make the design more attractive. Such a flower bed does not require drip irrigation equipment.
You can make an original mobile flower bed from ordinary flower pots, stringing them onto a central base or placing them on a special stand.