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.
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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