Creating a Vertical Garden Out of Salvaged Rain Gutters

Most homeowners have a strong affinity towards the beauty of the outdoors that they bring a piece of it right at their own lawn or backyard in the form of a garden. However, if you happen to live in a cramped apartment or perhaps a home with a compact porch, bringing the outdoors inside or turning that awkward outdoor space into a lush wonderland can be a challenge.

Fortunately, regardless how miniscule your space can be as long as you have a bare wall that needs beautifying, it’s possible to tend annuals, perennials, and herbs. 

How? By creating a vertical garden.

Vertical Garden in Brief

The concept of vertical gardening was first introduced by Patrick Blanc, a French botanist, in the late 1980s as a means for urban areas to go “green” by using existing spaces, particularly walls, as plant beds. The idea is to provide an easy solution for growing vegetables, fruits and flowers in a small space. Aside from such functions, however, vertical gardening also adds life to walls and help reduce heat that a structure absorbs. Since its introduction, vertical gardening caught on among homeowners and is still a widely used gardening technique for compact spaces today.

There are many ways how you can create a vertical garden. But, if you’re just starting with this living art, here is a simple guide on how you can make a cheap and simple vertical garden out of used rain gutters.

Find the right spot

Before you start the project, find the space (preferably a bare wall) where you will be incorporating your vertical garden first. At the most, you want an area that receives enough sunlight and have access to water.

Pick your plantings

The most ideal plants for a vertical garden are dense, low growing and thrive well on the climate in your location. Likewise, they should be shallow-rooted since the planting cells you will make are only a couple of inches deep and will provide limited growth space. Species like lettuce, violas and thyme prefer moist soil. But if you like plants that require little maintenance, succulents are a good choice.

Collect the supplies

Once you have chosen your plants, it’s time to collect the materials you will use to build the panels. You can save a lot of cash by using a salvaged 8′ PVC rain gutter. Cut it into three 32′ sections. If you intend to plant herbs or other edibles, make sure to clean the pieces really well.

Aside from the gutters, you will also need bags of potting soil, PVC end caps, gutter mounting brackets, cordless drill and screws.

Drillholes on the gutters

To provide proper drainage, determine the center of the gutters and draw a reference line on them. Drill holes following the line you made, but make sure that you leave enough space for each hole. Then apply the end caps on both ends of each gutter.

Mount the gutters

Next, screw the gutter mounting brackets onto the wall where you will be integrating your vertical garden. Each gutter should be supported by three mounting brackets to carry the combined weight of the soil and plants. Once the mounting brackets are in place, position the gutters.

Start planting

Now that the wall panels or pockets are ready, you can fill them with potting soil and plant the greens, blooms or edibles you’ve picked. As a rule of thumb, exercise proper maintenance to ensure that your vertical garden will not wilt. The upkeep includes watering that is often supplemented with fertilizer and trimming. The frequency of watering depends on the size of your garden as well as its location and exposure to the sun.