The landscape gardening in the age of high technology does not just remain in demand, but is actively expanding, taking on new forms. One of the modern ideas for the application of vertical gardening was successfully mastered by interior designers, proposing the concept of phytowalls. It is not difficult to implement it with your own hands - it is enough to determine the parameters of the structure and the method of its construction.
What is a phytowall?
Structurally, the phytowall is a multilayer structure, each level of which performs specific tasks. The basis is laid natural or synthetic fabric material with pockets into which the plants are planted. On the back side it is isolated from moisture penetration, and the external part is interfaced with hydrological communications.
From the point of view of maintaining plant life, it is very important to provide an irrigation system that works in automatic mode. It is formed from pipes of small diameter with pumping equipment and a sump. Next, we will consider the implementation of phytowalls step by step with their own hands using available tools and materials.
Creating a fabric base
First, you should make a phytomodule that will form the basis of the wall. It will need to be attached to a full-fledged partition or wall, so immediately you need to prepare a kind of supporting mounting crate with elements of biological and hydrological isolation. In its simplest design, it is a series of wooden planks that are attached to the target surface with metalware.
Then you can proceed to the modular design. How to make a phytowall in your apartment from felt? It is advisable to choose felt for the reason that it is an environmentally friendly and biologically resistant material that is organically suitable for keeping vegetation. The main work will be to sew pockets of certain sizes. The configuration of the placement of niches is compiled individually, but it is important to maintain a balance over the entire area so that the structure gives a uniform load and does not warp. Seams are best done with kapron threads for reliability. You can increase the rigidity of the canvas due to special staples. With them, the felt is fixed to the prepared crate and is additionally attached with a thin wire to the color of the canvas.
Solving watering and lighting tasks
Even at the sewing stage, it will not be out of place to provide contours for launching small plastic pipes. They will be irrigated. On one side, the ends of the tubes are led to the pockets and closed with plugs with small holes. By the way, you can think of a small perforation along the entire length of the channels, but so that the water from them flows to the plants and does not spill. A drip tray is installed from the bottom. It also mounts an aquarium pump for lifting and circulating fluid through pipes. The calculation in the selection of the pump should be done based on the lifting height of 1-1.5 m.
The design will not do without lighting. Compact LED elements can be integrated into the phytowall with your own hands, using decorative screws. Directly into the crate, the spotlight is screwed both in a separate order, and using a special profile. You can also use LED strip, framing the phytowall at the edges. In this case, protruding battens of the battens should be foreseen in advance from the bottom, top and sides.
What plants to prefer for the design of phytowalls
On the one hand, a win-win option will be orientation to one’s own taste, and on the other hand, there is a list of plants that are most adapted to such living conditions. It is recommended to make the phytowall in the apartment with your own hands by the following families:
- Hypoxidic. This is indoor vegetation, characterized by long leaves and a rather impressive height. For hypoxidia, it is desirable to equip the phytowall with large indentations between the pockets, since crampedness will adversely affect their development.
- Arrowroot. On the contrary, small plants that are ideal for planting in a small area. Arrowroots tolerate moderate humidity and dark rooms.
- Fern. In this family, it is worth choosing pellet, pteris and nephrolepis. These varieties have a bright and lush top, which in the composition looks playful and airy. What is more important, fern, unlike many houseplants, is resistant to nearby heating sources.
- Bromeliads. Flowering plants that can be used in combination with green spaces. The features include undemanding in terms of watering. From time to time it is enough to moisten the stems and leaves from the spray gun.
- Ivy. One of the most successful options in terms of use in the phytomodule. All types of ivy are characterized by low requirements for moisturizing, light and air. Therefore, if necessary, with the help of such a design it will be possible to zone “problem” areas near the corridor, bathroom and kitchen.
Of course, it is not necessary to plant a plant of only one type. The phytomodule is quite suitable for combined solutions, if, in principle, there can be compatibility between different varieties.
Do-it-yourself planting plants for phytowalls
By the time of disembarkation, the phytomodule must be securely installed and secured. Expanded clay of fine fraction is poured into prepared cells to a level of the order of 1/3 of the height of the pocket. The following is a fundamentally important filling based on nutrient soil. The soil layer on top of expanded clay should perform the functions of a moisture regulator and microclimatic balance. How to make a phytowall with your own hands that will meet such requirements? For this, it is necessary to prepare the appropriate soil mixture, in which there will be turf land, deciduous soil, humus and sand. Of course, we are talking about a small amount sufficient to fill a pocket with a volume of not more than 1 liter. Planting is performed alternately. Each plant is wrapped with a flap, then immersed in a pocket of modular design and filled with prepared soil composition.
Features of moss phytowalls
The construction of the phytowall on which it is planned to plant moss is somewhat different in the manufacturing technology. First, you should determine the origin of this vegetation. You can use both ordinary forest and store sphagnum moss. Secondly, instead of creating a cellular web, a continuous vertical surface device will be required. You can make a phytowall of moss with your own hands according to the following instructions:
- First you need to prepare a thick sheet of plywood of a suitable shape.
- Array of moss is divided into small pieces.
- Using PVA glue, each moss bush adheres to the surface of plywood.
- The design is fixed to the crate, which is also used to create felt phytowalls.
- The main source of nutrition for the moss will be the liquid sprayed from the atomizer.
Rules for caring for the phytowall
Periodically, add water to the pan of the automatic irrigation system, checking the quality of the pumping equipment. As the plants develop, the phytostalls with their own hands will also need to remove dried flowers with leaves and cut off bulging shoots. The design itself does not need special care, but it will not be amiss to occasionally treat wooden elements of the crate with antiseptics and biological protection agents.
Conclusion
Phytodesign is the best way not just to decorate your home, but to create a real “green” corner in it with minimal cost. In a modest city apartment, you can equip an artificial phytowall with your own hands on a small platform. The vertical design will practically take up no free space, but it will add variety to the design and make the climate control more natural. The owner will only need to maintain the phytomodule in proper technical condition, not forgetting the needs of the vegetation.