We do provide a full planting design service, but we’re also happy to review any plant lists developed by others.

The maintenance programme of a living wall is different for every project.  However, what is carried out throughout is consistent.  Maintenance visits take place typically monthly, but can be fortnightly, depending on the client’s requirements.  These include a visual inspection, adjusting the irrigation levels if necessary and ensuring the soil and plants are in full health.  Horticultural husbandry visits are carried out twice a year, and are more intensive.  These can include checking for pest and disease, trimming and pruning, applying biological control through the irrigation system or replacing plants where necessary.

For a full maintenance guide and schedule example, please get in touch and we’ll share.

A living wall can be installed in a saline environment.  Once again it’s down to design and the maintenance schedule.  Ensure the plants and soil are suited to the conditions, and the maintenance schedule is appropriate, and your living wall will be kept in optimum health.  In fact, our living wall at Venue Cymru is a perfect example of that, where it’s facing the sea.

If water is calibrated correctly there shouldn’t be enough water coming out the wall to justify recycling.

Yes, rainwater can be used to irrigate a living wall.  We call this rainwater harvesting.  However, it is something to be discussed as early as possible in the project, as how the rainwater is collected and fed into the irrigation system needs to be planned out and integrated into designs.

A lot of lessons have been learnt since we began experimenting with living wall systems back in the 2000s.  Here are some we’ve learnt along the way, so you can avoid making the same mistakes:

• Make sure you do your research and choose the right system for the project. Are you looking to create something temporary or for long-term?  Is it for environmental reasons, to make a social impact or purely for aesthetics? Different systems are suitable for different applications.  For example, pocket planters are best for smaller, short-term projects, whereas the Viritopia Living Wall system (modular, based on soil) is ideal for larger projects that are intended to last forever, as economies of scale apply, and the plants are growing in their natural growing medium, improving resilience.

• What plants are you designing with? Plant choice can make or break a living wall project.  Consider light levels, exposure to wind and sun, where the wall is facing (the aspect) and the general climatic conditions.  Also think ahead: will there be something implemented after the living wall is installed that will change the conditions?  For example, will trees be planted in front of the wall after the installation, creating a much shadier area?
• Substrate choice. Although it is usually hidden, the choice of substrate (what the plants are growing in) is as important as the plant choice.  Consider the region you’re in, for example the substrate that would work for living walls in the UK would be different to one that would work in Sweden or in Dubai.  Do you want the living wall to be an environmental asset? How much maintenance and irrigation are you planning for?  A natural substrate like soil not only supports the local environment, but it’s what the plants are used to, which means less nutrients need to be pumped in to keep them alive and healthy, and therefore there is less maintenance, compared to man-made substrate such as rock wool.
• Irrigation & water management. Water filtration plays a big part in the wall’s irrigation. If not filtered correctly, pollutants can cause contamination to the façade, which won’t be good news for your living wall. Similarly, if there’s an uneven spread of water across the irrigation system, plants may begin to fail.  For large walls, multiple watering zones can be designed within the irrigation systems to avoid uneven watering.  It’s imperative to determine the water source for the living wall and if water is to be recirculated.
• Probably the most obvious point: maintenance is essential for any living wall. It’s extremely important to understand and keep on top of plant health, as failing to notice signs of unhappy plants can be detrimental. Your contracted maintenance partner should also be able to manage the health of plants, the water content, and ensure correct horticultural husbandry at the appropriate time of year.  Before your maintenance strategy is thought out, though, there is one vital point you must confirm, and that is: are you able to access the living wall for maintenance?  Without an access method, you can’t provide the maintenance a living wall needs to exist.
• Look out! There may be obstacles.  We’ve experienced the fall-out of not having the full picture at the start of a project.  In one case, it was decided to have trees planted directly in front of the living wall, but this wasn’t shown in any designs.  We designed the living wall for the space as we knew it: with dappled sunlight for most of the day.  But once the trees were in, they completely shaded the lower 3 metres of the living walls, causing the plants to fail.  Essentially, a holistic approach must be taken for the planning, installation, and on-going care of all living walls. If everyone works together, highlighting any potential obstacles along the way, there will be no surprises later down the line - everything will be smooth from start to finish, and your living wall will blossom for the appreciation of many.

This blog on ‘What could go wrong with a living wall’ goes into more detail on each of these points listed above, so if you’d like to learn more, we’d recommend having a read here.

Living walls can be installed anywhere, as long as there is suitable lighting (natural or artificial), access, and within fire regulations.  To find out more on fire regulations, we recommend you having a read of this blog.