DIY vertical garden | Easy Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardens don’t have to be attached to a wall or a fence. They can also be hung from a roof overhang or trellis structure as well.

Hanging planters can sometimes be a better option if you don’t want greenery growing on the side of your home or up against a wood fence. Plus, multiple containers hung one above the other with vining plants like english ivy can create a beautiful and useful privacy screen that you can make yourself.

These hanging vertical gardens also provide a perfect solution for rooms with windows that have a not-so-nice view. If you can hang these vertical gardens from the outside roof overhang, they can make the view much more relaxing or interesting – and maybe even block an unsightly wall or old fence.

This video below shows how you can some cool hanging duct planters similar to the ones sold at West Elm for $49 (but by making them yourself, you can save a lot of money).

Rain gutters can also be used to create these vertical planter “walls”. Gutters don’t necessarily need to be attached to a wall or other vertical structure. As the DIY video demonstrate below, the only supplies you will need can be easily found at your local home improvement store:

Rain Gutters
Gutter End Caps
Eye Hooks with Washers and Nuts
Chain for hanging
S-Hooks for Attaching Chain to Gutter
Drill for Drilling Holes in the Gutter

You can the rain gutter in plastic or metal usually in 10 foot or 12 foot lengths. Usually store staff can cut them to the sizes you want for free – so you can get about 4-6 planters for a single gutter which may only cost you $12-15 (plus the cost of end caps).

Plants and Drainage for Your Metal Duct Garden:

Depending on the plants you decide to use and where you want to position your hanging plants, you can either drill holes in the bottoms of the ducts for easy drainage or not.

For plants that require regular water with good drainage, I recommend adding drainage. However, my spider plants thrive in all my containers – with or without drainage holes. Succulents like jade plants can do fine without drainage as long as you are careful to not over-water them.

Other Vertical Planter Ideas:

If you have old containers that could be recycled into planters, baskets or long flower boxes, these items can also be used to create your green wall. Just make sure that they are designed for outdoor use.

The long flower box on the right is made of lightweight durable plastic resin that is ideal for hanging. They only cost about $10 for a 2-foot long container. You can get them in the gray (as shown) or in a dark green, terra cotta or lighter pepperstone color.

You might also find some interesting an unique containers for planting by checking out local thrift stores, Dollar stores or home improvement stores. These are also great places for finding bargains as well.

Keep in mind that a fresh coat of paint can completely change the look of virtually any item. Whether you want brightly-colored containers or prefer planters to match the walls of your home, paint can easily (and cheaply) do the job.

For example, check out this hanging plant holder using 3 wicker baskets:

Hanging Wicker Basket Planter — courtesy of https://www.goodshomedesign.com

Lowe’s has this easy DIY tutorial for making a vertical garden using lattice. You can use inexpensive materials that you can pick up at your local home improvement store. This simple gardening project can make a surprisingly big impact on an exterior wall of your home.

Check out the short instructional video:

Although I really like the concept, the project becomes even easier when you buy a pre-made piece of lattice or ready-to-assemble
garden trellis.

You don’t have to cut, sand or paint any wood, since the unit comes pre-built and ready to assemble. A weekend project instantly becomes an afternoon project, and you can spend your time arranging plants instead.

Many pre-built lattices run between $50 and $100, depending on the size you want. It does cost more than making your own.

However, the cost of wood, paint, nails and other supplies can add up. If you don’t want to spend hours sanding, nailing and painting, $50-$100 may sound like a bargain.

Just like in the video, you can use zip ties to attach terra cotta flower pots to the lattice.

You don’t need any tools to hang the planters once the lattice is secured to the wall. Plus, you can easily remove and replace the flower pots in the zip ties if you ever need to replant flowers.

These trellises are made of durable PVC vinyl, so they are totally weather-proof and never need to be painted.

Although not customizable like the project above, they are very similar and have the advantage of being low maintenance.

Attach them to a fence or alongside the outside of your house. Lattice planters make an easy design fix for large blank walls. They are also a convenient way to add greenery to an outdoor walkway , front entry or patio without taking up any floor space.

Alternatively, you could use them indoors to hang houseplants, (assuming your flower pots don’t have drainage holes that leak water onto the floor).

Easy DIY Vertical Garden with Metal Ducts

Plants and Drainage for Your Metal Duct Garden:

Other Vertical Planter Ideas:

DIY Lattice Planter Tutorial – Easy Afternoon Project