Grow a Living Wall
Posted by ReadyMade
by Mimi Zeiger; Photos by Will Crocker
When Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans in 2005, it devastated the city, including the Botanical Garden, flooding the grounds in 3 feet of water and knocking over trees. As the storm waters receded, nurseries from around the country helped rebuild the collection of some 2,000 lost plants. Today, the garden is thriving and its renewal is a source of pride and inspiration, even as strides toward recovery remain slow throughout the city.
The Botanical Garden recently opened a new pavilion designed and built by the local company buildingstudio and The Tulane City Center, the Tulane School of Architecture’s research and outreach program. The team’s aluminum screened eco-pavilion demonstrates gray water filtration, on-site water retention, and ecological design. The cubic shade structure and freestanding garden wall are constructed primarily out of green materials: bamboo from the Botanical Garden, eco-friendly cypress lumber, and boards reclaimed from houses destroyed by Katrina. Plants in the living wall sit in conduit trays salvaged from a Gulf Coast oil rig. There’s even a rooftop photovoltaic array to demonstrate solar power.
If it wasn’t evident before, Katrina made it clear that New Orleans is all about water. Because the city is below sea level, even simple rain showers strain the city’s storm sewer system. Every drop of water homeowners can absorb on their property helps the whole city. In the garden, rainwater from the pavilion roof channels into a gutter and then drips fountain-like into a catch basin. From there, it’s cleansed as it percolates through sandy beds of native water plants before flowing into a holding pool for the plants in the living wall.
Going green is, unfortunately, new to New Orleans. Lagging behind most major municipalities, it’s still without a citywide recycling program. But architect Coleman Coker of buildingstudio is out to raise awareness and, so far, reactions have been positive. “We were surprised when lots of people came to the opening and started telling us about their own retention ponds and backyard cisternsŃthey’re watering vegetable gardens and breeding dragonflies,” says Coker excitedly. “It has a small, but important, impact on a city that is rebuilding itself.”
Skill Level
Hard
Active Time
Weekend
Cost
$$
- Ten 4×4 steel tubes or wood posts,10 feet tall
- Concrete (fast-setting premixe 3000 psi or better, about 3⁄4 bag per post)
- 2 foot-long pieces of 2×4 cypress lumber per tray, per post
- 10 inch-long bolts with nuts and washers, 12 per post
- Recycled conduit trays, or 10- to 12-foot-long 2×6 cypress lumber
- Wood screws
- 2×2 bracing (if using lumber)
- Heavy-gauge filter cloth or insect-screen cloth (12 inches wide×80 yards)
- Organic planting soil
- Plants: perennials or vegetables
Materials
- Posthole digger
- Spirit level
- Power drill
Tools
Pick a spot in your yard that gets ample sunshine for your living wall. The Tulane City Center and buildingstudio’s wall is roughly 30 feet long, but you can shorten or extend as needed by adjusting the number of vertical supports.
Lay out posthole foundations. Holes are 4 feet on center apart. Dig 10 holes (or as many as you need) 36 inches deep for vertical supports.
Insert 10-foot-tall 4x4 steel tube (or wood) posts. Use a spirit level to make sure each post is plumb. You may want to brace each post to keep it upright. Backfill holes with concrete. The concrete should set in 20 minutes, but wait several hours before installing planting trays to ensure the post is secure.
For planting tray supports, drill a set of 2 holes through each post every 12 inches. Attach two 12-inch-long 24 cypress boards to each side of each post horizontally and bolt together with 10-inch-long bolts, using appropriate nuts and washers.
For the planters, the designers used reclaimed conduit trays, but 10- to 12-foot-long 2x6 cypress lumber works as well. The planter trays form an alternating layout like a checkerboard, rather than spanning the entire length of the fence, but you can adjust as desired. Use screws to connect your planters to each side of the supports. If using wood, screw 2x2 bracing across the bottom of the planters every 24 inches.
Line bottom of planters with heavy-gauge filter cloth or insect-screen cloth. The bottom isn’t sealed because perforated material provides optimum drainage.
Fill trays with organic potting soil.
Add plants. This system works best with plants with shallow root systems such as creeping jenny (Lysimachia), nasturtiums, and sweet alyssum, but the living wall would be perfect for all kinds of vegetables and herbs, such as lettuce, green onions, radishes, and spinach.
