Notes from the land of Incahoots
The Walls are Alive!
In the blog a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to take a ‘Living Walls’ class at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. What got me interested in living walls was that while Janet, Miranda and I were at Da Vinci Days in Corvallis in July, we came across a ‘Living Wall’ display. Basically, it’s a method of growing plants in a vertical structure that holds potting mix. As chance would have it, Chemeketa Community College offered a class devoted to just this subject. So the last Saturday in September I went to the Oregon Garden to spend the day learning about how to make living walls (and green roofs) and also get some hands-on experience as we created one for the garden. (Don’t you love classes where you get to pay to work?) A living wall may be just the thing for the south side of the Incahoots building. It would keep it cooler in the summer and definitely be more attractive. (Maybe I’ll teach a class next spring and you can pay me to build one.)
The design and construction techniques that we used for the wall at the garden were quite different from what we had seen at Da Vinci Days - somewhat of a cross between the low tech, do-it-yourself version and the buy and install, high tech types that are becoming more common. Many of the projects at the garden are experimental in nature and it will be interesting to see how this wall will change over time. I came to conclude that this is an area that is still in the early stages of experimentation and commercialization, and there are no right and wrong ways of constructing a living wall. That being said, here’s how we did the one at the Oregon Garden. The next time you’re there, be sure to stop by the Children’s Garden and see how it’s growing.
We began with custom-made wire cages which had a hinged center panel.
A coir (coconut fiber) blanket was used as the lining to contain the potting mix.
The potting mix was then packed into the cage and the coir was overlapped at the edges. This was the most time consuming part - trying to make sure that the mix didn’t get out and not having a lot of room to tuck in the edges of the coir.
Next the center panel was tied back into place and slits were cut in to coir to make room for the plants.
The finished wall will feature a butterfly design created from various colors of plant foliage, so we worked from a master drawing being careful to put the right plant in the right place.
After the plants were tucked in, the cage was watered and hung on the grid. Drip tubing will be added to keep the wall well watered.
We didn’t have time to complete the whole wall during the class, but our instructor told us that there are a lot of volunteers at the garden who would be finishing it up. So I plan to go back this weekend and see how it’s coming along. This weekend it’s also time for the Garden’s annual Fall Festival -a fun family event in a gorgeous setting- and the weather is supposed to be sunny and warm. Perhaps I’ll see you there!
Brian
Just like me, Willow couldn’t be happier than when she’s frolicking by the stream. But one day there are sightings of an underwater monster, then the garden begins to flood and some magic beads appear. Knowing the stream better than anyone else, it’s up to Willow to unravel the mysteries and find a solution—fast!
