Other Vertical Gardening Structures

Old wooden ladders, poles, antique wooden wheelbarrows, and even old cars can be attractive features where you can grow plants vertically. Other simple structures for vertical gardening include pergolas. Additionally, you can use raised beds, planter boxes, and containers for your vertical garden.

Raised Beds and Planter Boxes

Window boxes are a good option for growing indoors or on your window sill. There are many styles available. They typically are made of wood, plastic, or fired clay.

When using window boxes, you should fill them with a high quality potting soil. This soil is designed for containers and will drain well. You may need to line the window box to keep the soil from leaking out. Just make sure that the liner has a few small holes punched in it to let the water drain.

You may also design a raised bed garden to grow a variety of plants if you don’t have a garden plot. Raised beds work great on patios and decks. A benefit of working with raised beds is that you can personalize the height of the bed. This will allow you to work standing or sitting. You can also make your own soil mixture when setting up your beds. Please see the Raised Bed Gardening Guide for more information.

Planter boxes are similar to raised beds, and are typically small containers that are designed to grow many different kinds of plants.

Containers

Containers are another great option for growing plants vertically. You can buy containers and hang them from a variety of hooks or poles.

There are also a number of unusual containers specifically designed for growing large quantities of crops in vertical spaces. The Topsy Turvy gardening system is a great way to grow tomatoes, flowers, and other plants in a small vertical space. Vertical grow bags are another option.

Traditional containers are available in many styles. You can choose to use wire or wood baskets, plastic pots, clay containers, etc. Wire and wood baskets are also suitable for hanging on stands, arbors, hooks, and many other surfaces.

Wherever you hang them, just make sure you have some way to catch the excess water from the plants so the water doesn’t drip and ruin your favorite table. Also, check the weight of the plant and be sure that the structure you hang your container on can handle the weight. You may also consider the addition of a special polymer to the soil that will help the soil retain water.

If you want to try something unusual, try out this vertical hydroponic garden system. You can grow tomatoes or other veggies without soil in this container.