Re-purpose a Plastic Frame to Make a Vertical Garden
Vertical gardens fascinate me. It doesn’t matter where you live or how much space you have a vertical garden is a living canvas that showcase the best that nature has to offer. With so many inspiring ideas on the web we had to try make our own using a plastic frame we found at a local thrift store.
What you need
What We Used to Make a Vertical Garden
- A large plastic frame
- Plastic coated wire mesh
- Pallet off-cuts and eco-friendly waterproof wood sealer
- Aluminum tape (optional) I was being extra cautious and wanted to make really sure the wood didn’t rot
- Woven fabric weed mat (plastic weed mats won’t allow plants to get the water and nutrients they need to grow)
- Plastic drop cloth
- Staple gun
- L-shaped brackets
- Plants (we used succulents because they don’t need a lot of water and are really easy to maintain)
- Potting soil mixed with perlite
Making the Vertical Garden
We measured the inside of the frame (where the picture would go) and cut the wire mesh and weed mat to fit. Then we attached the wire mesh and weed mat to the back of the frame using a staple gun. Make sure that the “furry” side of the weed mat faces upwards (or inwards) – the furry side helps retains water while the wire mesh and weed mat will hold the soil in place and provide support for the plants.
Attached the wire mesh using a staple gun
Using the inside frame measurements we cut some light weight pallets to form the sides of a box which we sealed with an eco-friendly wood sealer. For extra protection we added aluminium tape to protect the wood and prevent it from water rot. I love that stuff and we’ve used it to make so many things for the garden. It’s waterproof, super sticky and a roll goes a long way.
Cover the pallets with aluminium tape
We used L-shaped brackets to put the box frame together and attached the box to the plastic frame. We also drilled some holes at the bottom for drainage.
Building the box frame
Once the sides of the box were done we covered the whole inside with weed mat using a staple gun and added some mulch, compost, perlite and potting soil. Potting soil helps retain the water and keep it moist for longer than normal soil would.
Fill with moss and sand
I was a bit worried about how we could stop moisture seeping through the back of the box frame and into our wall, so we used a thick plastic drop sheet, which we put on top of the soil before we closed off the box frame with some more pallets which we cut to size.
A plastic drop sheet to prevent water from seeping through the back of the box frame
We flipped the frame over to check that everything stayed together. It was a bit disconcerting working backwards if you know what I mean, it’s kinda like filling a pot from the top down. Anyhows the box frame held up and the soil didn’t fall out. Lulu seems happy enough with the whole contraption 😀
Life is a garden. Frame it
The frame is ready for planting
Planting the Vertical Garden
Now for the fun bit. To add the plants we just cut a small hole in the wire mesh and weed cloth and carefully tucked the plants into the pockets flipping the wire mesh back down to secure the plants.
Planting the succulents
It’s always best to choose plants that don’t need a lot of water, since a vertical garden can dry out really quickly. Succulents are a great choice. They’re easy to grow and propagate and they come in the most beautiful colours!!!
Mother Nature at her best
Hanging and Caring For a Vertical Garden
Give the roots some time to establish themselves before hanging the vertical garden. Both the soil and the plants need a few days to settle in their new environment. Initially vertical gardens need more maintenance than normal container gardens. The plants are really close together and have less soil to “spread their wings”. So you will need to water them more often in the beginning.
Vertical gardens can also be very heavy. That’s one of the reasons we added perlite to the soil mix and a plastic frame. Our walls are all brick so fortunately we didn’t have to worry about finding studs to hang this baby up.Just make sure the drainage holes are at the bottom. Ask me how I know 😀
I abSooooLutely love how our repurposed framed vertical garden turned out.They truly are amazing, we’ve even made one using empty DVD cases
If you like the idea of repurposing an old frame to make a vertical garden, don’t forget to pin it for later.
Have you tried making one?
Oh and if you prefer to buy rather than DIY, we’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing craft ideas to share with you 😉
I love how yours turned out. I have been working on my succulent garden since January and I think it may be a fail. I hope not. I hope mine looks as great as yours does. It will be published in May so we shall see.
I’m sure yours will be fine Debra. They are a little harder to keep going than a normal garden, but succulents are such easy plants and thrive mostly anywhere.
That’s so stunning Michelle! How’s it doing now? Did everything keep growing & doing well? I love the concept & it looks so pretty!
The little succulents struggled a bit in the beginning. I think they weren’t used to having their roots pointing sideways instead of down ? but they’re doing well now
This framed vertical garden is genius! I love that you used succulents, not only for the colors, but they seem to be so unpretentious (never die in my house despite being my roommates).
LOL Milena, succulents are the best room mates ever.
How dud you attach the wood box to the plastic frame??
Hey Chad, we screwed the DVD cases onto the piece of wood from the back. The screws are quite long and I’m hoping that as they rust they’ll add some more nutrients to the soil too. Hope that helps
What DVD cases? I don’t see any in your materials list. Very beautiful!
Oh dear did I mess up. The plastic frame is just one of the vertical gardens we’ve made. The other one was made using empty DVD cases – here’s the link https://acraftymix.com/blog/2017/06/26/old-dvd-cases/
Ohh very well done my friend. It is truly a living work of art fit to be framed.
Thank you Mary, I’m so happy with how well she’s doing. We’ve been able “harvest” a whole bunch of her off shoots for other projects.
That looks amazing. Oooh, I am thinking I want to make one for a Christmas gift!!!
Thank you so much Dara, they do make such lovely gifts 😉
I haven’t made one of these, but have fancied having a go for a while. Your instructions are lovely and clear – pinning ready for when I find a suitable frame!
Please share when you’re done Sarah. Ours has been hanging outside for a few months now and she’s made tons of baby succulents, so she must be happy.
I’ve made the living wreath to hang on a old window frame. This picture frame
will look great looking out my outdoor room over looking the lake .
Thanks for sharing .
Joanne T . New Ross ,Nova Scotia ,Canada
Awesome 😉
I would like an update. How is this holding up?
Hi, the frame is holding up beautifully. All I’ve had to do was remove some of the old leaves and I’m really glad to say the succulents seem very happy. The pale green ones have all made babies. I’ll post some update pics as soon as I get a chance.
How do you water it?
Hi Danielle, at the moment we just give it a little spritz of water with a spray bottle if it’s been really hot.
Love it. Is it very heavy?
It is heavy. We tried to use the lightest wood we could find for the box frame, but as soon as you add the soil it just gets heavier and heavier. I wouldn’t suggest hanging it on a wall that can’t take some weight. Thanks for stopping by.
WOW I totally love this! I will definitely try it, thank you!
Zaria
Pleasure Zaria <3
Am I missing something here? I love this idea and the instructions are very clear. But how do you water the plants later on??
Hi Chilifriend, fortunately succulents don’t need a lot of water so we just use a spray bottle to give them a spitz of water once a week. I think you can probably drill a hole on top of the box and add a rubber hose with holes if the plants aren’t succulents. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Michelle this is just awesome. I just love gardening and this was something I would definitely wanna try. Your breathing canvas is stunning and would love to have one on my living room wall. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful post!
Thank you Rashmi <3
What a cool idea!! I can’t wait for spring so I can start a little garden by myself!
Haben Sie vielen Dank Sarah!
This is amazing! I absolutely love it. Come make one at my house? 😉
🙂 🙂 Anytime 🙂 🙂 as long as you share your brilliant blogging tips while I hammer away
How beautiful, love it!!
😎 Thank you