FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What is a living wall?
A living wall, also called a ‘green wall’ or a ‘vertical garden’, is a vertical surface filled with living, growing plant matter. There are two ways that plants can grow on vertical surfaces: the first is by affixing multiple rows of small planters to a vertical wall; the second is by affixing felt fabric to a wall, and sticking plants into pockets within that felt fabric. We think that the second kind of living wall is more aesthetically appealing, and allows for plant varieties with more extensive root systems, so these are the types of living walls that Green Apple builds.
2. Why would I want a vertical garden on my property?
If it isn’t already obvious, numerous scientific studies have clearly demonstrated that having more green surfaces in our living environment promotes good psychological health. Throughout almost all of human existence, we were accustomed to live in the lush surroundings of jungles and savannas. No matter where we come from, plants affect us subconsciously, and make us feel at home on earth.
3. How can plants grow on a wall without any soil in it?
Plants require water and they require nutrients, but amazingly, they are able to grow very well even if they are not potted in soil, as long as they are provided with a steady stream of water and nutrients. Your own instincts will confirm this, if you think of the lush vegetation in tropical rainforests that climbs and clambers over soil-less rock. A living wall simulates the same growing conditions as a tropical rainforest, for our purposes.
4. Is there a size limitation on living walls?
For all intents and purposes, there is no limit on the size of living walls. There are many examples of living walls that have been built to staggering heights, including a 160-foot high wall, right here in Toronto.
5. Can a living wall survive through Canadian winters?
A vertical garden is no different from a horizontal, or conventional, garden in this respect. Some plants will lose their bright colours and turn to dull hues. Other plants will lose leaves and only regenerate in the springtime. It certainly doesn’t hurt to protect them over the course of the winter with an additional protective layer of plastic, essentially creating a cold frame, a hospitable mini-greenhouse for the living wall.
6. How long does a living wall last for?
The inventor of vertical gardens, Frenchman Patrick Blanc, began building living walls over thirty years ago in his own apartment, and he still enjoys them. The first living walls in Toronto were built five years ago, and they are still standing, their plants surviving and thriving. We don’t know the life expectancy for living walls, because we don’t know of any that have failed yet. But like all of the other outdoor landscaping work that we do, we guarantee the living wall for two years’ time.
7. Can living walls be built indoors?
Living walls can be built indoors and outdoors. Obviously, depending on where the wall will be built, different factors will affect the construction and maintenance of the wall. For example, we will only be building outdoor living walls during the regular landscaping season from spring to fall, and we will only be building indoor living walls during the winter. But both are beautiful and will add to the value of your home.
8. How would a living wall impact upon an indoor space?
One of the positive attributes of living walls is that they increase humidity levels in an enclosed space. In a cold climate like Canada, where we keep our windows closed for most of the year, our homes and offices can get awfully dry, especially in the winter. The introduction of a living wall makes any room in your home more pleasant to spend extended periods of time in.
9. Will a living wall affect indoor air quality?
One of the functional benefits of a living wall is its ability to filter the air inside your home. Unfortunately, the average home is filled with many industrially-produced products that off-gas toxic chemicals (albeit at relatively low levels). The plant roots of our living walls do not sit in soil, but instead intertwine with the felt fabric and are exposed to the air flow. These roots contain symbiotic microbes that break down the volatile air-borne chemicals, rendering them inert, thus filtering the air.
10. How are living walls irrigated?
A special mixture of natural nutrients is dissolved into the water that runs down through the felt fabric from the top of the living wall. The plants drink through their roots, which are intertwined with the felt fabric. As long as the automatic irrigation system functions, the plants will remain healthy.
11. What happens to all of the water that runs down the wall?
We build a basin at the bottom of the wall that catches all of the water, and then we install a pump that recycles that water back to the top of the wall. There are two advantages to this system: one, the sound of water droplets falling into a small pond below creates a pleasant, relaxing sound similar to a natural waterfall; and two, you can turn the basin into an aquarium for fish. An another advantage of the aquaponics ecosystem is that the excrement of the fish that dissolves into the water makes great food for the plants.
12. Can any plants grow on living walls?
No, not all plants can be grown successfully on living walls. Some plants are disqualified because they require a great deal of depth for their extensive root systems. Other plants have needs that are not compatible with the conditions of indoor environments that human beings have become accustomed to. However, this still leaves a very long list of beautiful plants of all colours, shapes and sizes that work well in living walls.
13. Can food plants also grow on living walls?
Certainly, food plants can also grow on living walls, even indoor living walls that are not exposed to much natural lighting. However, indoor living wall that includes food plants can be a little bit more expensive than a living wall that does not. For example, it requires special, more expensive light bulbs for the plants to yield fruit. But the ability to grow your own fresh vegetables in the middle of winter should be adequate compensation!
14. Won’t the lighting required to grow food indoors be too intense?
We construct a drop-ceiling and extrude false walls to frame the vertical garden, and we install the special grow lights behind this framing. As a result, the intense lights never shine in your eyes, only on the wall. In this way, tropical plants and humans can comfortably cohabitate.
15. How will a living wall affect my energy consumption levels?
In a house without a living wall to cleanse the air, new air must constantly be brought in to refresh the indoor environment. Since this air is coming in from outside the house, it must be heated in the winter, and cooled in the summer, to achieve a comfortable room temperature. Converting electric energy into heat (or coldness) is a very inefficient process. A living wall that filters indoor air makes it unnecessary to bring in air from the outside and heat or cool it up artificially, saving significantly on your energy bill.
16. How much does a living wall cost to install?
The cost of installing a living wall varies based on a number of factors. One determinant is obviously the size of the wall, another is its location, indoors or outdoors. A third factor is the varieties of plants chosen for the wall. On the average, a living wall can cost about $120 per square foot of wall space. This is not an insignificant sum, but we feel that the amazing advantages of living walls justify the extra expenditure on materials and labour.
17. Does a living wall require much maintenance?
Once a living wall has been installed, there is next to no work that needs to be done. If the living wall includes edible and/or medicinal plants, then you will be able to harvest foodstuffs from the living wall at regular intervals, depending on the variety. If you are growing fruit-bearing plants, such as tomatoes, then you will need to switch light bulbs on occasion to give the plants the correct spectrum of light energy it needs to bear fruit. But besides that, a living wall pretty much takes care of itself.
18. Are there costs associated with the maintenance of living walls?
Just like all gardens, vertical gardens require regular irrigation and the occasional replacing of plants. In addition to these costs, the artificial lighting systems of indoor living walls can cost around $40 a month in electricity costs, and require the replacing of special light bulbs every 18 months or so.
19. This is so cool! Why isn’t anybody else doing this?
Yes, this is really cool! Actually, there are a couple of other companies in the Greater Toronto Area that are providing a similar service. One of them is building and installing vertical gardens made up of rows of small planters, and the other is constructing soil-less felt-fabric living walls, like ourselves. It is a radical new idea, and many people are afraid of new ideas, at first. At Green Apple, we like to test out new ideas, and if successful, embrace them and share them with others.
20. Can I see any examples of Living Walls right here in Toronto?
Certainly, we’ve built a beautiful Living Wall in our own offices at 16 Northwestern Avenue, East of Keele, between Lawrence and Eglinton. Start by checking out these images, and if you want to get a closer look, you are more than welcome to swing through for a visit to see what it’s all about. Come by and learn how you can have your own personal indoor Garden of Eden, courtesy of Green Apple Landscaping.
