Imagine walking toward your home or office and coming face to face, not with the usual grayish brick or concrete wall, but with a lush and green tapestry.  Then see yourself entering the building and again encountering the same beautiful façade covering your interior walls. This is the joy of having a living wall.
A living wall is a wall whose surface is covered with growing plant material. They are also referred to as green walls, vertical gardens, or eco walls. Living walls have numerous benefits and they are gradually beginning to dominate the landscape in shopping malls and airports. Think of it as a way of bringing the beauty of nature to you.
However, once your living wall has been installed, you have to make sure that the system works well. The maintenance requirements will depend on the type of living wall you have, but there are some fundamental considerations you have to keep in mind.
Irrigation
Living walls rarely contain any soil, so you have to know how to irrigate the plants. If there is some soil, then make sure to water the plants several times a day. You may have to do this using a watering can or a hose. The amount of water used will depend on the specific needs of the plants. If the living wall uses a hydroponics system, ensure that there is a constant supply of water in the pipes.
Fertilizer
Plants need to eat, and in a natural setting, this food comes from the soil. But when it comes to a living wall, this isn’t possible. This means you have to add fertilizer to the water to ensure the plants get the right nutrients. The exact amount and the type of fertilizer used are determined by the type of plants on the wall.
Pruning
Plants that grow in the ground need regular pruning to stay healthy. The same applies to those growing on a wall. You have to remove any drying or infected leaves and stems that may spread diseases to the rest of the plant. In case your living wall has herbs and vegetables, you have to harvest them to avoid dealing with rotting crops. Though weeds aren’t much of a problem in a living wall, you still have to check and remove any strange plants that find their way into your wall.
System Maintenance
Apart from irrigating, fertilizing, pruning, and harvesting, there is still a lot of work to do in maintaining the system. You have to check the water pump periodically to ensure it is functioning properly. The pipes and sprinklers have to be inspected to make sure they work correctly. If you fail to do this, you may have to deal with flooding or dried up plants.
As you can see, there is a lot that goes into maintaining a living wall system. The good news is that you don’t have to do all these tasks on your own. There are some companies that install and maintain the whole system for you. With such a plant care program in place, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy your living wall.
