A few months ago we pondered the question ‘Are living walls the next stage of garden office design’ and at the time the concept still seemed a way off and limited to one off builds, but now we have seen this ingenious green walling system by Treebox and we feel the concept could easily be adapted into standard garden office designs.
What would be the benefit of a garden office with living walls? Well many garden office companies have incorporated living roofs into their buildings because they are aesthetically pleasing, replace the natural biodiversity removed from a garden when the garden office is installed, and helps to increase the insulation of the garden office, and living walls will take this concept a stage further whilst offering the benefits of reducing solar gain, noise and air pollution.
Treebox have developed a range of vertical planting solutions, their Easiwall perhaps being the most suited for use on a garden office. Easiwall is made up of rows of troughs made from 80% recycled plastic that clip to a back panel, such as a garden office wall, the troughs have been designed to accommodate sufficient growing substrate to produce robust plants and are designed to be a long lasting feature. Irrigation systems are required but these can be automated and include soluble fertiliser. Plants are chosen for the specific location i.e. sun or shade and include varieties such as Heucheras, Evergreen Short Ferns, Pachysandra, Liriope, Carex, Vinca Minor, Euonymus, Violets, and Alpine Strawberries. Plants should be evergreen and grow no taller than 30cm as they will be in the Easiwall for their whole life.
A little maintenance is required to keep the living wall in good condition and includes checking the irrigation system is working and deadheading spent flowers and leaves. The Easiwall system is designed to last for many years, especially if hydroponic growing media is used instead of soil.
Treebox also have a herb wall, designed for cultivating herbs for a kitchen garden. This system incorporates a wooden frame with removable troughs into which the herbs are planted.
Another unique solution is the Vertical Allotment which has been designed with deeper troughs to accommodate root vegetables, ideal for small urban gardens.
A living wall should not only be considered for new builds as it is a great way to spruce up a ‘tired’ garden office, or to make a garden office blend into its natural surroundings.
Also, you’re not limited to using Treebox’s Easiwall outside as the system can also be used internally which would give a natural twist to the current trend for internal cladding.
Here at The Garden Room Guide we await with interest to see who the first garden office supplier to incorporate this system into their designs will be!
For more information about Treebox’s vertical planting solutions visit their website.
Click on the photos below for a slide show:
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