Pros and Cons of Indoor Vertical Gardens
October 8, 2020An indoor vertical garden can be a great addition to your home. But, before deciding on an indoor vertical garden for your new home, it is important to weigh out the pros and cons of indoor vertical gardens to determine if one is right for you. These “living walls” offer some great benefits, but they also present some challenges. Here’s what you need to know and some pros and cons of indoor vertical gardens to help you decide if you should include one in your custom home:
What is an Indoor Vertical Garden?
A vertical garden is sometimes referred to as a vertical wall garden, a living wall, or a living green wall. It is an assortment of plants and vegetation that are grown on the wall of a home along some kind of structure in a “climbing” fashion. An indoor vertical garden requires some installation process and waterproofing of certain portions of your home.
3 Pros of Indoor Vertical Gardens
Living walls do provide some benefits. Here are some pros of indoor vertical gardens:
1. Vertical Wall Gardens Add Nature to Your Home
A vertical garden can bring many of the intrinsic values provided by nature into the home. They can help to create structure in a room while also breaking up and adding depth to otherwise stale walls. In addition to the benefits adding a little nature to your home can bring you, living walls are also a great way to prioritize plants in your design and decor, which is a biophilic design idea that works with several styles.
2. Living Walls Don’t Take up a lot of Space
Because they are vertical, living walls create the ability to incorporate a decor option in the home that does not take up a lot of floor space. They add natural color and vibrancy without reducing the usable floor space, which can be allocated to other decor items such as furniture.
3. Indoor Vertical Gardens Can Improve Your Home
Beyond their immediate aesthetic appeal, indoor vertical gardens can improve your home with various supplementary benefits. Having natural decor, such as indoor plants, can create a relaxing environment in your home and aid in stress reduction.
Indoor vertical gardens can also help to block street noise. Some plant species can provide aromatic benefits and many homeowners choose to grow useful plants, such as herbs and spices that can be used for cooking.
3 Cons of Indoor Vertical Gardens
Although they provide some benefits, living walls also have some drawbacks. Here are some cons of indoor vertical gardens:
1. Living Walls Require Maintenance
Before choosing to install a living green wall in your new home, it is important to consider the additional maintenance that it will require. While indoor vertical gardens can help to provide a serene and relaxing atmosphere in the home, if the maintenance will be prohibitive to a stress-free lifestyle, they might not be the right option for you.
Even if you have a green thumb and would enjoy the task of caring for a living wall, it is important to evaluate if this additional work and maintenance is something that you want to take on. Not considering the long-term maintenance and upkeep is one of the mistakes to avoid with indoor vertical gardens.
2. They Can Damage Your Home if You Choose the Wrong Plants
Choosing the right types of plants for your indoor vertical garden is important. Fast-growing, invasive plant species and some climbing vines can quickly grow out of control if left unchecked.
This can lead to damage to the walls, trim, or ceiling of your beautiful new home if the vertical garden is not properly cared for. Be aware that some plant species can be toxic to children and pets, so this is an additional consideration to be made when planning your vertical wall garden.
3. Irrigating Vertical Gardens Can be Challenging
One of the most important and challenging aspects of maintaining a vertical wall garden is how you will irrigate the plants. Successfully keeping plants alive will require water and proper drainage, which can be a challenge when you’re creating the living wall itself.
At the same, the space for the vertical garden within your home needs to be properly prepared to avoid moisture damage. This may mean some sort of waterproofing measures in and around the vertical garden to prevent water damage. These factors can lead to ongoing challenges and additional expenses over time that should be weighed alongside the many benefits provided by vertical wall gardens.
These are a few pros and cons of indoor vertical gardens and they can help you determine if a living wall is right for you. If you are interested in planning a vertical wall garden for your new home, take some time to do some research on what types of plants work best for them and use some vertical garden design tips to set your indoor vertical garden up for success. After that, you can use some general indoor gardening tips to help your plants thrive.
Consider the size and location for your green wall and make sure to talk with your home builder about the best way to implement this decor idea within your home. If you’re ready to bring your dream home to life, give Custom Home Group a call at 717-284-4090.