Thursday, October 7, 2010

Semiahmoo Library Greenwall Planting Complete


It took ten days, and the planting of the largest exterior greenwall in North America is now complete (at least my portion of it)! I ended up uploading a picture from the second last day because the weather and angle were both a little bit better. All the empty portions have since been filled in. At the time I left, some extra ground covers were just being added to deciduous patches. Eventually all the areas will grow in and the fabric will be difficult so see. The pieces that remain exposes will be colonized by mosses.

The area underneath will eventually be landscaped with a patio area so that everyone can enjoy the vertical garden. This will also prevent all the seeds/stems/leaves from sprouting a jungle beneath. It was a great experience and I would love to be part of more in the future!


It is also my first day off in over a week and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. It's really hard for me to just stop something. So now I'm designing the backyard garden for my father's girlfriend. It's south-facing but blocked by some large maples for part of the day with sandy loam soil. I might even upload a few images to get your feedback, we'll see how it goes!

BTW there is a wealth of information on these walls online. You can start by taking a look at the wikipedia page. This wall was designed by Green Over Grey.

19 comments:

  1. It looks great! I am just reading Patrick Blanc's book and is kind of making me want to cover everything in plants...

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  2. This is pretty spectacular! Congrats!
    I saw the green wall at the Musee du Branly in Paris.. I think it was by Patrick Blanc. It looked a little tired in February when I saw it.

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  3. Those shots are totally amazing. Please keep us updated on the growth.

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  4. How beautiful...perfect for a library wall! OMG...wish I could see it in person! Congratulations on your part of this gorgeousness!!!

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  5. Even though I am not a fan of vertical planting that is very pretty and well designed. Of course I wonder how it is going to look in a year...

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  6. I've lived a sheltered life. I haven't seen anything like this before. It is amazing!

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  7. Isn't it great? Absolutely love it. Hopefully we start to see some more here in North America. For some reason we're behind when it comes to vertical gardens.

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  8. Cool project. How does it get enough water? I've red that these plants on a building help regulate the temperature inside. So less airco and heating costs. I would've add only one thing. A bee hive. Nowadays bees make better honey in a city. Because the plant life is more diverse then in the country with all the same crop fields.

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  9. Great project! I look forward to see how it develops. I hope you upload some photos after all is done.

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  10. @Manuel Trinidad, a beehive would have been fun. There were actually already a tonne of bees up there while we were planting. Only problem is a public patio will be beneath.

    @~fer, I'll be sure to update! Can't wait until the spring.

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  11. This is really a great idea and it looks great. I wonder how something like that would work here in the desert. Very cool stuff.

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  12. That looks pretty amazing! I've never seen an actual Greenwall, except for a bit of trying-and-testing my boss is doing at work (which doesn't look too great) - do you know what sort of soil was used?

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  13. Wow, that is cool! Is this one of a kind in Canada?

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  14. @rohrerbot, I'm thinking the desert may not be the best place. ;) Maybe if it was shaded. I'm just worried that that you'd need a layer to reduce water loss which may reduce oxygen getting to the roots. Unless wasting water isn't a problem, but let's not go there

    @Ivynettle, it's soil-less with a bit of vermiculite where necessary as a buffer if there are irrigation issues. Basically hydroponic, just like how water would pick up nutrients before running over a cliff.

    @Dan, not the only one in Canada but the largest and likely most diverse. A total of about 120 plant species.

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  15. I love it. Hopefully there will be more and more of this installed in our city!

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  16. Gorgeous! Just stumbled onto your blog here while looking for orange flowers. Whereabouts in Canada is this building?
    Nice blog by the way : )

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  17. This wall is located in Surrey, BC, Canada near White Rock. Thanks! :)

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  18. @rohrerbot a bit late in my response. But this could indeed work in a desert area. Provided you use plants that are used to a desert area. And can handle the heat and cold. Since in most deserts there isn't a lot of rainfall you could use recycled wastewater generated by every house. Since they are desert plants they don't need lots of water. So you can install a small water recuperation/filtration system on a couple of kitchen and bathroom sinks. It's advice though that you use biological soap and non toxic biodegradable stuff.

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