I’m sticking with the gardening theme from yesterday and introducing you to vertical gardening. Vertical gardens were first created in the 1980′s by Patrick Blanc, a French botanist who transformed the exterior of the Quai Branly Museum in Paris and the Parliament in Brussels by “decorating” them with plants.
Portlander Randy Raburn has worked in the landscape business for over 15 years and his latest passion is vertical gardens – also known as green walls or hanging gardens. Vertical gardens solve many problems. They allow for greenery in densely populated cities and can also easily cover eyesores in your backyard. They also allow people with itty-bitty spaces to grow plants and herbs, as these type of gardens grow up and not out. And did I mention they are really beautiful?
Once you see these gardens, you are going to want one. They are simple, but lush and no two are alike. I love how the plants take on a mind of their own, and quickly transform a small area into a mini wilderness. Simply put, it’s nature at its best.
Randy is a true curator of these gardens and hand selects every plant. He knows which plants actually grow in the Northwest and each garden has a beautiful mixture of texture, color and size. There’s some serious design work that goes into creating these.
I’ve gathered a few shots of Randy’s finished pieces below. LOVE!
Ferns, strawberries, heuchera, euonymous, grasses, moss and a variety of succulents are just a few things that are included in the above vertical gardens. And did I mention they are fairly easy to care for? Right up my alley!
How can you get your hands on one of these? Well we are in luck, as Randy is currently taking custom orders. Feel free to email him at raburn3@comcast.net for more information and check out his site here.
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June 16th, 2011 on 10:28 am
I love this! We’re so used to seeing these “green walls” at such a big commercial scale that it’s nice to see someone bringing it to a much more human scale that people can enjoy in their homes. Thanks for sharing this!
June 16th, 2011 on 12:37 pm
I LOVE vertical gardens!! And I love the smaller one in the frame…that makes it seem manageable for us “normal” people. Great post!
June 20th, 2011 on 9:05 am
These are amazing. So good for the city and tight spaces. I saw Flora Grubb speak last year about vertical gardening and it’s all truly inspiring. Nice post!