Go on, add some green to your walls!

Even corporate spaces are embracing the trend of vertical gardens

February 27, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:34 am IST - Bengaluru:

According to Rashmi Attavar, Joint Managing Director, Indo-American Hybrid Seeds, home owners and corporates are looking at transforming ‘Plain Jane’ walls into living walls.

According to Rashmi Attavar, Joint Managing Director, Indo-American Hybrid Seeds, home owners and corporates are looking at transforming ‘Plain Jane’ walls into living walls.

Be it Garuda Mall’s pillars covered in lush green creepers or the park off Indiranagar 100 ft Road, the vertical garden is a trend that is going beyond apartments and villas to corporate spaces.

“A lot of people are enquiring about vertical gardens. The attraction is not just about compensating for space restrictions. The aim is also to include green in aesthetic ways,” says Rashmi Attavar, Joint Managing Director, Indo-American Hybrid Seeds. The company specialises in saplings that grow on vertical surfaces. “We take care of the horticulture part of pre-treating plants to make them secure on walls,” she said. She added, “Today, one looks beyond just including plants and flowers around you. Call it a movement or a fashion, this healthy trend has Bengaluru’s homes and corporate spaces looking at transforming ‘Plain Jane’ walls into living walls.”

Govindaraju L.R. of Emphasis Landscape & Designs has turned several walls green in the corporate world, including in GE, Dell and Bagmane Tech Park. He says “The concept of vertical gardens are selling like hot cakes, as they come with minimum maintenance and are not a strain on one’s pocket. Many offices are considering having a live green wall instead of a dead, brick & mortar element staring at you.” He has worked on nearly 150 corporate projects and 600 residences in Bengaluru.

Initially, enthusiasts found vertical gardens to be costly affairs. But with innovative products and new-age soil-less media, which includes mica and silica along with organic composts “that give plants better longevity”, the plants mounted on wall structures are made easy for maintenance. Slots are created in them for water drips, says Govindaraju.

What it is

Vertical gardens cost Rs.1,000 upwards per sq ft

Greenery is enmeshed on a vertical interlock that holds small plants

It is watered by an inbuilt drip irrigation system

The garden is an edible wall when leafy greens are grown

It is a bio-wall when herbs are grown

Artificial illumination helps foliage respond to light in indoor spaces

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.