Vertical gardens have become popular among those who enjoy growing outdoor plants but have limited dedicated space to grow them. Not unlike high-rise buildings that can accommodate more homes on a parcel of land by building up, a vertical garden can take advantage of a small underutilized footprint, and turn it into a visually impressive green space. A vertical garden is limited only by your own imagination and ambition. Examples range from a stepladder-style arrangement inside a condo or on a small balcony, to a house exterior covered in climbing vines on a wall trellis.

Whether you prefer colorful flowers, flavorful herbs or simply bountiful green cover, the fullest effect is achieved by selecting plants that yield a great deal of foliage that will hang or droop sufficiently enough to cover the frame of your planter arrangement. The most sophisticated versions can nurture greenery within soil-retaining mesh pockets on a grid-like frame, or in troughs arranged like a bookshelf. Whatever your arrangement, it must be made so that it’s easy to water and maintain your plants, and water run-off can be properly managed. To get started, go online and learn from the wide range of visual ideas, do-it-yourself kits and how-to instructions that are available.