EMERGING TRENDS OF VERTICAL LANDSCAPING IN BALCONIES Mrs. Afroz Adil
Lecturer, Architecture and Interior Design Department, Government Women’s Polytechnic College, Indore
Abstract- Lack of open space, increasing pollution levels and temperature and constrain of being indoors is giving rise to a new normal for the city dwellers. This new normal has brought a variety of changes in our lifestyles. One of the positive changes is bringing our mother nature into the built environment. Designers and architects are looking for innovative ways and means to make the interiors greener and healthier providing the owner a comfortable and relaxing ambience to live in. Vertical Landscaping is a step towards achieving this goal. Vertical Landscaping is usually designed on the exterior walls of a building, be it a balcony wall or a porch wall or the front façade of the building. This research highlights the benefits of vertical landscaping and why is it in so much demand these days. What are the different types of vertical landscaping and its irrigation techniques, how to select plant for the vertical surface and how the vertical gardens should be constructed on site should be understood in detail before designing a vertical landscape.
1. INTRODUCTION
In today’s scenario that is post Covid-19 there are many drastic changes taking place in the urban life. After going through all the pain people have realized the value of nature and this has brought them closer to the environment. Vertical gardens or landscaping is a way to bring the wild into the urbanized lifestyle. It can be installed in small spaces, in residences, cooperate offices, hotels, institutes or may be on road dividers. This is an ancient concept for attaining natural thermal insulation and at the same time beautifying the space.
Vertical gardens mean plants grown directly on the interior or exterior side of a built wall; it can be a free standing unit or can be attached to the wall with the help of a frame structure. So for the urban life where there is lack of horizontal land space for landscaping, designers are opting for vertical landscaping, thus bringing the same natural beauty and benefits of gardens into our homes and offices. The best place for these vertical gardens is balconies and porches; as they are open to the environment, plants get direct sunlight and also it enhances the front façade of the building and maintains the privacy of the occupants from the outside world.
2. BENEFITS
Vertical gardens provide n number of benefits to the built up space. First and foremost is insulation. The plants absorb solar radiation and so can reduce the interior temperature by 4 to 5 degrees. It also acts as sound absorber to omit or reduce the unwanted traffic noise from our indoors. It also absorbs Volatile Organic Compounds and other pollutants from the surroundings. It reduces the energy demands and also purifies the air with increased oxygen levels. It also uses less water and thus helps in conservation of water. It beautifies the space using very minimal space. A variety of plants can be grown using varied colors, textures and patterns to increase the aesthetic value of the built up space. Vertical gardens help in reducing stress and also stimulate psychological well being.
3. TYPES OF VERTICAL GARDENS
Vertical gardens can be classified into two types: a) Green Facade and b) Living/Green Wall Green Façade: In this system climbers or ground covers are used to cover the wall with the help of supporting framework. The plants are grown in the ground or in containers. These facades can be freestanding as partitions or can be fixed to the wall.
Fig.1. a) Green Façade Fig. 2. b) Living/Green Wall
b) Living /Green wall: This system is fixed to a structural wall or a frame and it consists of pre-vegetated panels or vegetated blankets or vertical modules. These panels are made up of either plastic or synthetic fabric, or a number of plant varieties can be potted in them.
This system has a higher maintenance as compared to that of green façade. This is further bifurcated into two types i. Modular Green Walls and ii. Vegetated Mat Wall.
i. Modular Green Wall: The modules are made up of recycled Poly Propylene which are aesthetically good, durable, easy to install and easy to maintain.
ii. Vegetated Mat Wall: Here there are two synthetic fabric layers which have pockets that are filled with plants and growing media. These fabric pockets are attached to a framework and have a waterproofing layer at their back to protect the structural wall against dampness.
3.1. Growing Medium
The vertical gardens are grown using a growing medium which should be weightless, more porous, should have high water and fertilizer retaining capacity and a neutral ph level. Growing medium can be either Loose Media or Mat Media or Structural Media.
a) Loose Media: These are also known as “soil on shelf” or “soil in a bag system”. Here the soil is packed into a bag or a shelf and then these are installed on the wall. This is a high maintenance media and has to be replaced once a year for exterior walls and once in two years for interior walls. This system cannot be applied for high traffic areas as it is messy and looses soil slowly over a period of time. The soil here can easily get eroded with heavy rains and winds so it is not advisable to use this system above a height of 2.5 meters.
b) Mat Media: This system has either felt mats or coir fiber as their growing medium. Here multiple thin layers of mat are used as growing medium and these thin layers cannot support the roots of mature plants. These mats have to be replaced every three to five years and the process of replacing involves cutting and removing the old mat and placing the new ones. But in this process the roots of the plants get damaged and thus a lot of plant damage can happen in the maintenance process. Since the mat doesn’t hold much water, this system requires circulating water irrigation system, thus increasing the installation, energy and maintenance cost.
c) Structural Media: This system is a combination of loose and mat media. It comprises of
installation cost is higher than loose media and mat media but it has very low maintenance cost.
3.2. Irrigation
Irrigation of the green wall depends on the season, temperature and the sun exposure of the plants. Fertilizers are injected into the water tanks and thus are fed to the plants through the irrigation pipes. Irrigation can be done basically in three ways: a) Circulating System, b) Drip Irrigation and c) Conventional Water Sprinkling.
a)
Circulating System: This method conserves water as the water keeps circulating. For the installation of this method a water tank, a water pump, a control system to sense time and moisture, water distribution tube and water collection drain tray is required. Water is pumped on the wall and is time to time released in each pocket or pot and the excess water is collected in the drain tray at the bottom and is circulated back into the system.Fig. 3. Circulating Irrigation System
b)
Drip Irrigation: For this system a drip pipe is needed along with a water pump. The drip has tiny holes from which pure water is irrigated into the small pots of the vertical garden without over watering them.c)
Conventional Water Sprinkling: It’s the age old practice of watering plants by sprinkling water on them through flexible pipes. This method utilizes more water and it also messes up the surroundings with the water splashes.3.3. Plant Selection
It’s not an easy job to select plants for a vertical garden. There are more constrains to the selection as compared to a normal horizontal garden like the sun path, wind direction, temperature and other climatic conditions. The selection depends on the plant growth pattern, its size and how it behaves when placed on a vertical surface. The combination of plants has to be chosen on the basis of their texture, foliage density, water requirement and needed sun exposure. The most suitable plants for the vertical wall are the plants which are dense, slow growing and compact. For walls facing direct sunlight plants needing less water are preferred whereas for dark areas shade loving plants like ferns should be preferred. The top part of the wall should contain hard variety of vegetation as that part is difficult to maintain. Selection of plants also varies on whether they are to be placed on an internal wall or an exterior wall. The table below shows different types of plants, their botanical names and their placement areas.
Sr.
No. Plant Type Placement Plants Botanical Names 1. Herbaceous
Perennials (Seasonal)
Indoor Begonia, Anthuriums, Pepromia, Syngoniums, Pilea, Philodendron, Rheo discolor, Schefflera, Epipremnum, Chlorophytum, Fittonia, Spathiphyllum, etc.
Outdoor Asparagus, Mentha, Pilea Microphylla, Alternanthera,etc.
2. Succulents (Fleshy thick parts retaining water)
Indoor Rheo discolor, Setcreasea purpurea, Zebrina pendula,etc.
Outdoor Jade plant, portuluca, sedums,etc.
3. Ferns Indoor Nephrolepis
4. Shrubs (woody plants with many
branches)
Indoor Schefflera, Ficus
Outdoor Dusty miller, Cuphea
5. Ground Covers Outdoor Baby’s tear, Ophiopogon, Callisia repens, Dianella tasmanica
4. CONSTRUCTION METHOD
A wall is selected for the vertical landscaping. This wall is then made free from any depressions and made smooth. A coat of waterproofing is applied on the wall. After the water proofing coat has dried the frame structure of the vertical garden is screwed to the wall. Then potted plants are mounted in position and the irrigation tube is installed. A drain tray is fixed at the bottom for excess spilled water.
Fig. 4. Cross section showing the construction details 5. LIGHTING FOR VERTICAL WALLS
Adequate amount of light is required for a healthy and beautiful vertical garden. So while
throughout the day, whereas south facing walls should be avoided as they have harsh sun for a longer duration. East facing walls can also be considered for the vertical gardens.
Artificial lighting has to be provided for indoor vertical gardens. The amount and type of light depends on the plant variety used. Apt lighting should be selected as it is essential for plant growth as well as for the aesthetic value of the vertical garden. Plants need blue and red light for their process of photosynthesis. Red light is required by flowering plants whereas blue light is essential for the evergreen plants. For artificial lighting High Pressure Lamps (HPS), Metal Halide Lamps (MHL) and Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are considered as the best choices. These lamps are energy efficient and their light is suitable for the plant growth.
6. CONCLUSION
From the above study we can conclude that if a vertical garden in a balcony is cultivated, it isolates the insides from the outdoor noises and air pollution. It also cools down the interiors and brings mental peace to the residents. For this purpose Living wall structure should be used as compared to green façade with structural growing media to lower the maintenance problem. Irrigation of this green wall should be either done with Circulating system or with Drip irrigation system. The green wall should be north or east facing, and if it is south facing then hard varieties like succulents should be grown which require less water and more sun.
Plants with dense foliage like ground covers or Herbaceous Perennials should be used to obtain a fuller and beautiful appearance. If budget permits, then MHL should be used or else LED can be used for its lighting purpose.
REFERENCES
1. https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/horticulture/horti_Landscaping_vertical%20gardening.html 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_wall
3. https://www.nelda.org.in/blog/category/how-you-can-help/11-advantages-of-having-a-vertical-garden 4. https://gardentabs.com/pros-cons/
5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332141476_Fertigation_and_irrigation_management_systems_of_ver tical_gardens_and_green_roofs
6. https://www.plantsonwalls.com/guides/recirculating-irrigation-living-walls/
7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290942160_Vertical_Landscape_Design 8. https://www.ambius.com/green-walls/what-are-vertical-gardens/
