Vertical Gardening

Vertical Gardening, gardening with upright structures, can be easily accessed by all individuals. Many structures, including fences, arbors, trellises and walls can be used to create practical and functional gardening spaces, as well as defining areas, creating boundaries and providing support for plants. Hanging plants and pulley systems can be used to make vertical gardening attractive and easy to get to. All can be naturally incorporated into any garden design. There are many advantages of having a vertical garden, including:

Plants, such as flowering vines and variegated vines traditionally grown on upright structures, can be used to create a very attractive garden.

Vertical gardening can provide privacy and a disguise from unattractive views.
Vertical gardening provides excellent air circulation for the plants.
Certain pests are not vertical crawlers and you may be able to prevent some pests from being a problem.
You can build a vertical garden space as a shaded area.
Many plants can be trained to climb vertical structures.
You can grow more plants with little space.
Plants can be within reach for an individual with limitations who is unable to garden in a traditional way.
Many materials used for vertical gardening can be used in ground-level gardening or raised beds, such as trellises and stakes. If you are not steady on your feet, be careful about using plant stakes as you may easily trip and fall.
Plants which are grown vertically need more frequent watering, but can be remedied by using mulch at the base of the plant.

If you are gardening with some limitations, there are several factors you need to take into account before selecting seeds, plants and the type of vertical structure you will be using (Adil, 1994):

Will your plants be grown in a ground-level garden, a raised bed, a planter box, a tabletop planter, or in a container?
If the plants won\'92t be at ground level, how high from the ground will they be planted?
How tall will the plants be at maturity?
Will you be gardening from a seated or standing position, and how high can you comfortably reach?

Without some preplanting mathematics, the results could be quite frustrating if your plants grow out of reach. Moreover, it's exhausting to work with arms raised for any length of time. A combination of planting methods may in fact be necessary (Andil, 1994). For example, if you have a 30" high planter box, pole beans cannot be planted as the beans will grow out of your reach. It may be more appropriate to grow a low growing crop in the planter box instead. It will be critically important to preplan your garden and assess your limitations, as it would be with anyone, so that you will have a successful garden that is completely accessible to you. Janeen Advil makes a wonderful suggestion in her book about location of vertical structures. Make sure the vertical structures are on the north side of the plant, particularly if you have sun-loving plants. Another suggestions is to have the vertical structure on the downwind side of the plants, so that strong winds do not blow over the plants, but push plants against the supportive structure.

Hanging baskets are another great way to make use of limited space and create a vertical garden. Baskets can be hung on arbors or other vertical structures that can support them. If you have limitations in reaching high objects, ropes and pulleys can be installed so that you can lower your plants to be able to tend to them and then raise them to the desired height. With double or triple pulleys, you can make a miniature block and tackle system, applying some of the things you learned in physics class (or ask someone who was in a physics class!) to considerably reduce the strength necessary to raise and lower the basket. You can minimize accidents by tying a safety knot to become wedged in a pulley and stop a falling container, in the event control is lost (Rothert, 1994).

Selecting Plants for your Garden

Whole books are written on the subjects of appropriate plants to grow in containers or in limited spaces. Taking into account what you want to grow and adapting plants that suit your needs and limitations, you can grow anything. There are many gardening resources to choose from, including the library, gardening centers and your own experiences. Plant what works for you.

For an individual who may find traditional gardening difficult, there are some considerations that should be kept in mind:

Select plants that have an interesting texture, color, scent and form.
For an individual with limited vision, having plants that are vivid in color, such as bright red or orange, or have a interesting texture will allow a person with a vision loss enjoy gardening. Check out the gardens at Loose Park in Kansas City that was created for individuals who have a vision loss. Plants that are scented are particularly appealing whether you have a vision loss or not.
Select plants that you can easily maintain.
Determine how much time you can spend with gardening tasks. If you do not have the stamina or the strength to keep up with gardening chores, the garden will suffer. You may also loose interest in gardening.

For other ideas, there are several books that provide a wealth of information about gardening for individuals with disabilities and elderly, which was the basis for this article:

Rothert, Gene, Enabling Garden: Creating Barrier-Free Gardens, Taylor Publishing, Dallas, TX. 1994

Adil, Janeen R., Accessible Gardening for People With Physical Disabilities: A Guide to Methods, Tools, and Plants, Woodbine House, Bethesda, MD. 1994

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Lala Kumar, West Central Region Horticulture Specialist
kumarl@missouri.edu
Jackson County, MO Extension Center
1501 NW Jefferson, Suite 110
Blue Springs, MO 64015
(816) 252-5051
(816) 252-5575