P ROS & CO N S GUIDE

Vertical gardens are excellent if:

You have little space but a sunny fence or wall. You don’t like digging or bending down to garden. You have little time to weed, water, feed and mulch.

With vertical gardens you should watch for:

• WEIGHT. A litre of water weighs a kilogram, which means that a planted and wet vertical wall can weigh anything up to 90kg per square metre. Check that balconies, walls and any hanging components are capable of handling the load. • STABILITY. Chains can break, and screws loosen so you should regularly check your vertical garden’s safety. • DAMP. Damp can rust many metals and rot both wood and concrete.