So in the last part 1 entry I'd created a quite significantly large and quite ugly looking black and blue wall. Well now in part 2 we're going to make it spectacularly beautiful!
The greenwall blankets were dead easy to put up. In the photo above you can see the right hand blanket attached, and I'm setting up for the middle one. To attach it I first clamp the blanket to the top of the wall using quick-grip clamps so I can line up the blanket. You need to take care here to ensure that it's stretched tautly otherwise when you load it up with soil it will bow out from the wall.
Once clamped I then drilled a small pilot hole into each eyelet. Remember blue-board is effectively a sheet of concrete, so you need to use a masonry bit to get through it! I then finally drive in a 50mm hex-head screw with washer to secure the blanket to the wall, again making sure that everything is stretched nice and tight before finally tightening up all the screws.
For the large blanket there are 5 fittings across the top, 3 in the middle, and then 3 at the top of the bottom row, which all lined up with the 70x45 battens I had put in when making the frame.
Above shows the two middle medium blankets fixed in place in the centre panel. That leaves the large one on the left to be done next!
Above shows a closer view of the large blanket and it's really quite an ingenious design. The kit comes with drip feeder tubes and connections that slide into the fabric above each row of planter pockets. The water from the drippers soak the blanket (remembering it's rubber backed) which in turn waters the pockets. Very clever.
This shows the completion of putting up the blankets. Once they were finished I then painted over any of the blue that was still visible to give it a uniform look.
Here's the view down the side of the yard. The next job is to fit on the Holman Greenwall planters at the bottom of the large blankets. There's 3 for each side, 6 in total, and luckily for me 3 of the units is pretty much the exact width of the large blanket! Anyone would think I'd planned it that way!
This shot shows the planter pots fitted on to the bottom under the large right hand blanket. To fit them you have to fix a mounting bracket to the wall that the unit then hangs from. Each unit then clicks into the next one like kids building blocks. For watering you just run a pipe in the bottom of one with a standard snap-on hose connector. If one unit is connected to water, they're all connected, and then there's then an individual dripper for each pot. Another clever design.
Above is the completed wall with all the blankets and pots in and plumbed. I also added some 12v up and down lighting on either side of the middle section to highlight the plants at night. When everything is done I'll also hook some spots on the ground in front of each panel.
So all that is left now is to plant the plants! There's 44 needed for the large blankets, and 20 for the two medium blankets, and 48 for all the pots. That's 112 plants (and then some as I was to find out) to buy and plant, so I'd better get cracking!
Above shows the completed and planted centre section. The wall faces due south and is pretty shaded for much of the day, so I picked some sun loving cascading plants for the top level, and then worked my way down the wall until I got down to very shade tolerant ferns at the bottom. I brought the plants in pairs so it would give the wall a nice even look. I also ended up buying more than 112 as some of the bigger pockets can accommodate two or three medium plants, just to give more variety.
The guys at Jamie Durie emailed me a planting guide on request which was pretty handy, but it was mostly for a Sydney climate, not a Melbourne one. So I took it down to the local nursery at Bulleen Art and Garden who helped me pick the kinds of species from the list that I should be planting.
After the first section it was pretty easy, I just used a good quality general purpose potting mix to fill the pockets to plant into.
Above you can see I am getting ready to plant out one of the large blankets. For the bottom row small pots I just bought a few trays of Petunia and Impatiens which were super cheap, and allowed me to plant all the pots. I also spot planted the leftover ones randomly in amongst the bigger plants to give that burst of colour in all the green.
For the placement of the bigger plants, as you can see in the picture, I would just drop the whole pot (or pots) into the pockets to see how it would look when planted. The big pockets can hold a large pot or two medium pots. Doing this first allows you to mix and move things about before taking the plunge and planting the plants permanently.
Once I was satisfied with the look I'd then start at the top row and half fill the pocket with potting mix, then de-pot and drop the plant in, and finally fill in around the plant with more mix. When it was filled I'd then give the pocket a bit of a bash with my fist just to settle the soil and plant in, water it in well, and then move onto the next pocket.
Pretty soon the whole wall was done! In terms of costs it was around $600 - $700 per panel to plant them out, but the final product was worth every cent! I'm really happy with the result.
This is now my number one favourite spot, and thanks to the beautiful new green wall we have some privacy while still being able to say hi to the neighbours, and we're doing the planet a favour to boot!
With the trailing plants on the top row I have begun training some of them to go over the back of the wall as well, so that it will eventually soften the look on the other side too.
So that's it for the green wall project, I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I enjoy the result on an almost daily basis. Until next time, stay green!
 |
| The right hand large blanket added and setting up for the top middle |
The greenwall blankets were dead easy to put up. In the photo above you can see the right hand blanket attached, and I'm setting up for the middle one. To attach it I first clamp the blanket to the top of the wall using quick-grip clamps so I can line up the blanket. You need to take care here to ensure that it's stretched tautly otherwise when you load it up with soil it will bow out from the wall.
Once clamped I then drilled a small pilot hole into each eyelet. Remember blue-board is effectively a sheet of concrete, so you need to use a masonry bit to get through it! I then finally drive in a 50mm hex-head screw with washer to secure the blanket to the wall, again making sure that everything is stretched nice and tight before finally tightening up all the screws.
For the large blanket there are 5 fittings across the top, 3 in the middle, and then 3 at the top of the bottom row, which all lined up with the 70x45 battens I had put in when making the frame.
 |
| Right and middle completed |
Above shows the two middle medium blankets fixed in place in the centre panel. That leaves the large one on the left to be done next!
 |
| The large blanket |
Above shows a closer view of the large blanket and it's really quite an ingenious design. The kit comes with drip feeder tubes and connections that slide into the fabric above each row of planter pockets. The water from the drippers soak the blanket (remembering it's rubber backed) which in turn waters the pockets. Very clever.
 |
| All blankets mounted |
This shows the completion of putting up the blankets. Once they were finished I then painted over any of the blue that was still visible to give it a uniform look.
 |
| Nice job |
Here's the view down the side of the yard. The next job is to fit on the Holman Greenwall planters at the bottom of the large blankets. There's 3 for each side, 6 in total, and luckily for me 3 of the units is pretty much the exact width of the large blanket! Anyone would think I'd planned it that way!
 |
| Mounting the planter pots |
This shot shows the planter pots fitted on to the bottom under the large right hand blanket. To fit them you have to fix a mounting bracket to the wall that the unit then hangs from. Each unit then clicks into the next one like kids building blocks. For watering you just run a pipe in the bottom of one with a standard snap-on hose connector. If one unit is connected to water, they're all connected, and then there's then an individual dripper for each pot. Another clever design.
 |
| Build finished. Now onto the plants |
Above is the completed wall with all the blankets and pots in and plumbed. I also added some 12v up and down lighting on either side of the middle section to highlight the plants at night. When everything is done I'll also hook some spots on the ground in front of each panel.
So all that is left now is to plant the plants! There's 44 needed for the large blankets, and 20 for the two medium blankets, and 48 for all the pots. That's 112 plants (and then some as I was to find out) to buy and plant, so I'd better get cracking!
 |
| Centre section planted |
Above shows the completed and planted centre section. The wall faces due south and is pretty shaded for much of the day, so I picked some sun loving cascading plants for the top level, and then worked my way down the wall until I got down to very shade tolerant ferns at the bottom. I brought the plants in pairs so it would give the wall a nice even look. I also ended up buying more than 112 as some of the bigger pockets can accommodate two or three medium plants, just to give more variety.
The guys at Jamie Durie emailed me a planting guide on request which was pretty handy, but it was mostly for a Sydney climate, not a Melbourne one. So I took it down to the local nursery at Bulleen Art and Garden who helped me pick the kinds of species from the list that I should be planting.
After the first section it was pretty easy, I just used a good quality general purpose potting mix to fill the pockets to plant into.
 |
| Starting to plant the right side |
Above you can see I am getting ready to plant out one of the large blankets. For the bottom row small pots I just bought a few trays of Petunia and Impatiens which were super cheap, and allowed me to plant all the pots. I also spot planted the leftover ones randomly in amongst the bigger plants to give that burst of colour in all the green.
For the placement of the bigger plants, as you can see in the picture, I would just drop the whole pot (or pots) into the pockets to see how it would look when planted. The big pockets can hold a large pot or two medium pots. Doing this first allows you to mix and move things about before taking the plunge and planting the plants permanently.
Once I was satisfied with the look I'd then start at the top row and half fill the pocket with potting mix, then de-pot and drop the plant in, and finally fill in around the plant with more mix. When it was filled I'd then give the pocket a bit of a bash with my fist just to settle the soil and plant in, water it in well, and then move onto the next pocket.
 |
| Planting done |
Pretty soon the whole wall was done! In terms of costs it was around $600 - $700 per panel to plant them out, but the final product was worth every cent! I'm really happy with the result.
 |
| Job done. Time for a beer |
This is now my number one favourite spot, and thanks to the beautiful new green wall we have some privacy while still being able to say hi to the neighbours, and we're doing the planet a favour to boot!
With the trailing plants on the top row I have begun training some of them to go over the back of the wall as well, so that it will eventually soften the look on the other side too.
 |
| The lunch table is set and the BBQ is on! |
So that's it for the green wall project, I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I enjoy the result on an almost daily basis. Until next time, stay green!
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