In my home, I recently took on a patio re-new, like my studio re-new of last spring. I purchased new chairs, window boxes, and plants to create an oasis in the city; as a source of inspiration. When purchasing plants for my patio re-new just like painting on canvas, I tried to select different colours, heights, and textures. My favorite planter on the patio is the one made up of succulents. I created visual interest in the pot by layering different sizes and hues of planters together.
While researching plants and container gardening I came across a few interesting websites on how to maximize spaces both great and small.
Wooly Wally Pockets, this company manufactures felt pockets used for vertical container gardening. The way it works is, wool like raw clay pots, wicks away moisture from the soil storing it in its fibers. When the soil is dry, the water held in the pocket's fibres slowing seeps back into the soil. I made my own felt pockets by purchasing industrial weight felt from the fabric store and then grommeted holes for hanging. These pockets are ideal for spaces both great and small and ideal for herbs that like to dry out between waterings.
http://www.woollypocket.com/
An interesting trend in vertical gardening is the living wall. Trailing plants are mounted into vertical grid systems. The creator of a large concept vertical gardens is the French botanist Patrick Blanc. It is seen here on a smaller scale on the exterior of a wine bar.
A colleague of mine was doing some research of her own and turned me on to another interesting way to garden vertically creating "moss graffiti". Moss graffiti uses living moss spores to create words and images, in both indoor and outdoor spaces. By blending a simple recipe of buttermilk, sugar, and live moss; these green works of art can then be painted onto porous surfaces, such as wood, stone, or brick.
