Which plants are suitable for a vertical garden?
More and more people don’t have a garden—or even their own outdoor space. Especially in the larger cities, there’s very little room for greenery. Fortunately, you see more and more vertical gardens. It’s a fun, beautiful, and effective way to bring more greenery into the city. Bees, butterflies, and insects make good use of the plants, finding food and shelter there. A vegetated facade insulates the house, and a vertical garden helps reduce the amount of rainwater that runs directly into the sewer system. Abundant greenery in the city also helps combat excessive temperatures in the summer. In this blog, you’ll learn which plants are suitable for a vertical garden.
Learn more about the benefits of a vertical garden and how to create one.
What are some good plants for a vertical garden?
Not all plants are equally suitable for a facade garden. Think of plants and shrubs that grow too large, or plants that dry out quickly or can’t withstand rough conditions. That’s why you should choose hardy plants for your facade garden. Of course, you’ll also need to consider how much sun your garden gets. Different plants thrive in the shade than in the sun.
Plants for a facade garden in full sun
It can get quite hot in direct sunlight, especially near a building facade. The soil also dries out more quickly. Sun lovers benefit from the heat that lingers longer near the wall. Suitable plants for a facade garden in full sun include:
- Bedstraw (Stachys)
- Wisteria
- Blue fescue (Festuca glauca)
- Crocosmia (montbretia)
- Yarrow (Achillea)
- Stonecrop (Sedum)
- Verbena
- Catnip (Nepeta)
- Poppy (Papaver)
- Climbing Rose (Rosa)
- Bellflower (Campanula)
- Globe Thistle (Echinops)
- Feather grass (Pennisetum)
- Lavender (Lavandula)
- Musk Mallow (Malva moschata)
- Wallflower (Erysimum)
- Wall-flower (Erigeron karvinskianus)
- Giant Lavender or Russian Sage (Perovskia)
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus)
- Sage (Salvia)
- Ornamental onion (Allium)
- Railflower (Centranthus)
- Hollyhock (Alcea)
- Tuscan jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)
- Firethorn (Pyracantha)
- Blazing Star (Kniphofia)
- Wild grapevine (Parthenocissus)
- Spurge (Euphorbia)
- Sunflower (Helenium)
- Rock Rose (Helianthemum)
Plants for a Shaded Vertical Garden
It stays cooler in the shade, and many plants take longer to bloom. Still, there are quite a few shade-tolerant plants that grow and bloom very well here. Suitable plants for a shaded facade garden include:
- Columbine (Aquilegia)
- Fuchsia
- Blue grass (Sesleria autumnalis)
- Horned Lily (Epimedium)
- Evergreen clematis (Clematis armandii)
- Plantain Lily (Hosta)
- Autumn Anemone (Anemone)
- Hydrangea (dwarf varieties)
- Japanese mountain grass (Hakochechloa)
- Caucasian forget-me-not (Brunnera)
- Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger)
- Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris)
- Bellflower (Campanula)
- Creeping Bugle (Ajuga)
- Lilyturf (Liriope)
- Lungwort (Pulmonaria)
- Sweet violet (Viola odorata)
- Cranesbill (Geranium)
- Eastern Hellebore (Helleborus orientalis)
- Rhododendron (dwarf varieties)
- Akebia
- Bergenia
- Marsh Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium)
- Perennial honesty (Lunaria rediviva)
- Foxglove (Digitalis)
- Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla)
- Firethorn (Pyracantha)
- Wild grapevine (Parthenocissus)
- Zeeland Aster (Astrantia)
- Sedge (Carex)