[Greenbuilding] living wall

[Gennaro Brooks-Church]

I don't have an example of the kind of wall I am discussing. I should
have one in a couple months. I don't think the 4" planters can handle
anything larger that hardy sedum and some small grasses if you plan on
watering without a pump and without fertilizer. It gets really harsh
on the wall since the gravity pulls the water down pretty quickly. And
what isn't taken by gravity is evaporated by the wind.
That is why I am looking for a good structure to hold 12" thick or
deeper soil. At that point I think you can really start considering
cliff dwelling evergreen and larger dune grasses.

Gennaro Brooks-Church

Cell: 1 347 244 3016 USA
www.EcoBrooklyn.com
22 2nd St; Brooklyn, NY 11231




On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 7:03 AM, Sam Ewbank <g.l.ewbank at gmail.com> wrote:
> Gennaro
> Do you have an example of a wall with Evergreen ground cover and (I assume
> native) grasses?  Would shrubbery work if there was enough soil and
> structure?  Native plantings in my area (SW Michigan, USA) tend to have a
> deeper root structure which one of the benefits is more drought tolerance
> but I wonder how well they would do in a 12'"x12"x4" container  and would
> this be an issue for the  plantings  you are considering?
>
> Sam Ewbank
> On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 8:14 PM, Gennaro Brooks-Church <info at ecobrooklyn.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> A forever lush wall in a climate that has seasons will require
>> non-natives/water/energy/chemicals to maintain the unnatural
>> environment.
>>
>> The trick is to build a green wall that looks good year round yet
>> still follows the seasons. Evergreen ground cover interspersed with
>> grasses that leave pretty tufts of dry stalks is one way.
>>
>> Gennaro Brooks-Church
>>
>> Cell: 1 347 244 3016 USA
>> www.EcoBrooklyn.com
>> 22 2nd St; Brooklyn, NY 11231
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 6:49 PM, Steve <steve at greengeek.ca> wrote:
>> > Regarding the Patrick Blanc type green walls:
>> >
>> > As I understand it, one of the main reasons non-native plants are used
>> > is because unless you live in a very temperate area, most native
>> > plants go dormant over the winter in response to dropping
>> > temperatures; inside they wouldn't do this. Last year I spoke with a
>> > local green wall expert named Patrick Poiraud from Green Over Grey
>> > (http://www.greenovergrey.com/) and he confirmed this. They do Patrick
>> > Blanc style walls for both interior and exterior installations in
>> > Victoria and Vancouver, and interior installations in other cities
>> > across Canada.
>> >
>> > I first heard about this type of wall system several years ago but the
>> > best example I've seen was in 2009, on this website:
>> >
>> >
>> > http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/green-tours/green-tour-matthew-and-emmas-eco-environment-084775
>> >
>> > The owner of this green wall has a blog about the subject at
>> > http://diygreenwalls.blogspot.com/ which has tons of great info,
>> > including a time lapse video of the wall construction, and information
>> > on irrigation requirements.
>> >
>> > I've had the chance to inspect several Patrick Blanc style green walls
>> > up close, and from what I've seen not all are fully hydroponic, some
>> > use pockets of soil for the growing media and just use the felt to
>> > keep the soil moist.
>> >
>> > Compared to the intensive green walls I'd encountered before, this
>> > type of system is far lower maintenance, and cheaper to construct.
>> > Every installation I've seen with just soil in trays was a maintenance
>> > nightmare, such as the one at Dockside Green here in Victoria. It
>> > started out lush and beautiful, but did not last. Within a year or so,
>> > there was nothing left but the empty plastic trays with a few bits of
>> > dried soil and dead plant matter clinging to it. I've heard they're
>> > going to be replacing it with a new system this year.
>> >
>> > The best performing exterior system I've seen, aside from vines on a
>> > trellis, was composed of 12"x12"x4" plastic crates with bagged soil
>> > held in place with metal bars, which should be reasonably simple to
>> > replicate, and not too difficult to mount.
>> >
>> > Here are some details on a few different systems, including CAD
>> > drawings of the GSky system:
>> > http://www.impactlab.net/2009/05/16/living-wall-systems/
>> >
>> > And a mounting diagram from GSky:
>> >
>> > http://gsky.com/CAD/JPG/GSky%20Green%20Wall%20Spec%20Drawing-6-p-2.png
>> >
>> > Hope this helps!
>> > -Steve
>> > --
>> > http://www.greengeek.ca
>> >
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