photo: David Shankbone
photo: Kate Romero
Celebrate Earth Day with Woolly Pocket at Union Square in New York! We’re planting a spectacular living wall (our largest ever!) made with 300 Wallys filled with edible plants and lush native species. The ninety six foot long Woolly wall will be on view until Sunday April 25th, when New York Restoration Project will host the NYC Grows Festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day!
Click here to RSVP on Facebook!
One of the best things about Woolly Pockets are their versatility. It’s great to see people finding new and exciting uses to fit their needs and goals. Here’s a case in point:
In Historic Williamsburg, Virginia, a newly planted Vertical Garden now lives in an 85 year old boutique department store, Binns of Williamsburg! Tom writes to us:
“We have started to photograph customers in front of the wall in the gowns they are considering and buying. It makes a great backdrop.”
What a Woolly idea! Thanks Tom! If you find yourself in Williamsburg this spring, be sure to visit Binns and the outdoor farmers market taking place in front of their store!
photo credit: Suthi Picotte
Wally loves herbs (and vegetables)! This charming surf shack grows annual vegetables, perennial herbs, and some flowers for the pollinators.
Window Wally (W3)
One cherry tomato anchors each pocket, flanked by basil (a good companion plant – Genovese and ‘Magic Mountain’), Swiss chard (‘Bright Lights’) and ornamental salvias (Cleveland Sage, ‘Sage of Bath’). The dramatic black sweet potato, Ipomea ‘Chillin’ Blackberry Star’ will spill down to the ground as spring turns to summer. Always plant a few flowers to make sure your veggies get pollinated.
Herb Door (W1 x 5)
Top row: prostrate rosemary (on sides), evergreen bunching onions, everbearing strawberries
Pepper row: ‘Yolo Wonder,’ ‘Chervena Chuska,’ ‘Golden Treasure’ with Greek and Italian oregano spilling over
Eggplant row: (two each)‘Lavender Touch,’ ‘Chinese Eggplant’ – with thymes (German and ‘Variegated Lemon’)
Fourth row: cilantro, onion chives, Italian parsley
Mint row: ‘Orange mint,’ ‘Pineapple Mint,’ ‘Apple mint,’ ‘Spearmint’
Ingredients:
one sunny wall (at least six hours of full sun!)
herbs, vegetables, flowers (plants and/or seeds)
really good potting soil (vegetable mix)
Wallys – as many as you like! (hanging hardware included)
handy water source (hose or big watering can)
organic vegetable food
tools: level, drill, masking tape, pencil
Instructions:
1) Measure your space, calculate your Wally order, shop for plants and soil.
2) Hang your Pockets
3) Fill halfway with soil
4) Plant your garden
5) Water (regularly) + feed (follow the instructions!)
6) Harvest + eat
photo credit: Suthi Picotte
Notes:
Think about how your plants will grow, both on top and in the Pockets. Aggressive rooters, like mints, should be in their own Pocket as they won’t be good neighbors.
Combine upright plants (eggplant, peppers, onions) with low growing and spilling plants (oregano, strawberries, sweet potatoes).
Plant what you really want to eat and drink. Hate salads? Don’t plant lettuce. Love mojitos? Plant LOTS of mint!
Don’t forget to include some flowers. Many of the herbs will bloom, but you need some big beautiful blooms to attract those friendly pollinators.
Trim the bigger plants (tomatoes, rosemary, sweet potatoes) as they get leggy. Pick the fruit as it ripens, and cut off herb stems and leaves as needed – don’t pull out the roots though, as they will keep growing.
Replace annual vegetables and flowers as their seasons end. If your climate allows, rotate crops seasonally (broccoli in the fall), and try a cover crop (alfalfa, vetch) from seed in the winter, or early spring, to refresh your soil.
Compost? Worms? Winter color? More on these to come…
Happy Gardening!
Stephanie
If anyone knows how to grow an edible vertical garden it is Meg Glasser, regional director for Urban Farming. Over the past 5 years, Urban Farming has helped to create over 800 urban gardens in 30 cities. Check out her 5 easy steps to growing a vertical garden, including using Woolly Pockets!
www.good.is/post/how-to-grow-an-edible-vertical-garden-in-5-steps/
www.urbanfarming.org
Are you looking for inspiring vertical garden installations? Lushe is a great website from the Land Down Under full of cool ways to vertical garden from all over the world! We’re really inspired by the bathroom vertical garden over a bathtub.
In the latest issue of Chicago Home & Garden, there is a great profile of Tara Heibel, owner of Sprout Home. We love how she utilizes Woolly Wally’s to add a splash of living color! Sprout Home has locations in Chicago and Brooklyn, both stocking Woolly Pockets!
Apartment Therapy looks at 4 options for creating Vertical Gardens
If you want to go a more dramatic route, you can look into Woolly Pockets which have larger pockets for planting bigger plants like ferns and begonias (Image #3). They’re made of fabric that breathes so you won’t get mold or mildew building up in the pockets or on your walls. Plus you can hang them as a partition in a large space like a loft!
Be sure to catch tomorrow’s episode of The Martha Stewart Show where she’ll discover how easy it is to create a vertical garden using Woolly Pockets! We’re thrilled to be sharing our innovative products with Martha and her audience! Go to www.marthastewart.com for showtimes in your area!
Tune in to HGTV to see a segment called “Edible Garden” on Jamie Durie’s The Oudoor Room. Jamie uses Woolly Pockets to create a vertical organic garden! The show airs on the following dates and times:
March 20, 2010 @ 1:00 PM e/p
April 23, 2010 @ 4:00 PM e/p
With a client roster that includes A-list celebrities and five-star hotels, Jamie Durie is one of the most well-renowned and sought-after landscape artists in the world. We’re thrilled he’s discovered Woolly Pockets! Have you?
Be sure to pickup the March issue of Sunset Magazine on newsstands now. There’s a great article all about gardening in nontraditional spaces that includes the Wally Living Wall System! Thanks to Digs Inside and Out for the heads up!
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