Another item from the Irish Green Gathering. I met US born Rita Higgins and her Irish partner Paul Quirke, who have a sustainable landscape design business in Cork – Anu Green Designs. I was captivated by their ‘vertical garden’ systems which you can plant up or buy ready grown. I had known about greenroof gardens but Rita and Paul also establish vertical ‘living walls’. I was fascinated as the modular tray system for growing the plants seemed so easy and it follows how plants can easily live on vertical systems in nature. Imagine having your own herb garden growing happily on your kitchen wall or living, breathing patio walls around a deck.

Quite often I have observed artists dragging greenery into sterile galleries as installations (myself included) but the living walls seem more inspiring. French botanist Patrick Blanc has worked with leading architects all around the world with this idea, both in interiors and exteriors. He’s covered buildings, museums, even a McDonald’s!

living wall by Patrick Blanc