Details
Ball Horticulture
The Gardens at Ball are a series of 75 year-old test garden on the Ball Horticulture campus, west of Chicago. The grand 9-acre display garden showcases annuals and perennials, including the newest plants from the industries leading breeders and marketers. The gardens are used as a plant showroom, conference space and also host employee weddings and other special events.
A lush living wall was created in an outdoor pavilion in the garden, creates a stage like backdrop for events.
Design Challenge
The Pockets are mounted to an existing wooden fence, at the edge of the outdoor pavilion. The challenge was to create a lush plant palette that would be able to tolerate the deep shade conditions created by the pavilion and still thrive through the summer and fall season.
Date of Install
June 2011
Owner
and http://www.ballhort.com/ball/_ball_gardens.aspx
Designer
Access
Access is available through the Gardens at Ball, please contact them for details: http://www.ballhort.com/ball/_ball_gardens.aspx
Climate
The Chicago area is in hardiness Zone 5. The installation is under a roof in an open-air pavilion and partially protected from the elements. The plants are in deep shade all day.
Details
Pockets
The installation uses (20) Chocolate Wally Threes with reservoir. The installation is (12) pockets wide and (5) pockets high and covers an area 5’ - 7” high and 22’-2” long.
Details
Plant List
The original installation used approx. (200) 6” and 8” plants. The Gardens at Ball are replanted each year as a demonstration garden. The plant installation was not required to withstand winter temperatures. The palette is made up of outdoor plants that do well in shade:
Aeschynanthus Radicans –Lipstick Plant
Anthurium – Flamingo Flower
Alocasie – Amazon Lily
Begonias – Specialty
Caladium – Bicolor 'Florida Sweetheart’
Chlorophytum comosum – Spider Plant
Hoya – Waxflower
Zingiber officinale – Ginger
Details
Irrigation
The living wall is watered with a drip irrigation system. The drip line is 1/4” self-regulating ½ gph emitters spaced every 6”. A timer triggers the system to run 2x a week for 8 minutes. A backflow preventer is connected to the water source.