A harmless way of trying to save the environment is by planting a wall or all walls full of plants. Green walls are akin to green walls, a concept that is working best for almost all homes. Nothing can nourish your tired brain and swollen heart like plants can. Keeping them close is becoming a challenge with each passing day.

We are in the middle of a crisis- an environmental crisis that’s galloping towards us at mammoth speed. What needs to be understood here is that at this speed, within the next 100 years, we would be far from the place where we could have tried. Trying can happen even where you sit- from your home or even from your office.

Green walls are ensuring children don’t just end up amid concrete. They are ensuring people get an ample supply of oxygen from within their homes. The green walls would help reduce the carbon load added to the environment from each individual residence or home.

What is a green wall?

A wall made of green, living plants that perfectly fit into your home’s décor.

A green wall can be made of grass, ferns, or other supple plant species that can easily thrive under the shade and grow healthily, producing more and more oxygen.

Green walls have recently been recognized to have several benefits. Rather than harming your environment, these living walls can make your life easier. Healthy people can benefit, and so can those who are sick from the rising air pollution levels.

Asthmatics, dysfunctional breathing disorder sufferers, and patients with allergies can benefit hugely from the presence of green walls.

Benefits of green walls

Once you build a green wall, you will need to maintain it over the years. The benefits of a green wall are many, and only when you have one will you know how it is benefitting you every day.

1.    Green walls serve as temperature controls

We all know and carry the lore that people have used the shades of trees to save themselves from the sun’s rays.

Peak summer temperature reduction can go up to 2-9°F (1-5°C) by evapotranspiration alone or combined with the effect of shading.

Shaded parts of a home like your green wall can deliver a temperature of 20 to 45^oF (11-25^oC).

When the temperature in your home is controlled, it is far easier to experience a reduced heat condition.

Plants work by absorping the sun’s heat and rays. Concrete walls reflect more heat and light. It is the sole reason why planting trees and large numbers of plants can absorb most of the heat and light and cool down the surface easily.

1.    Decrease in energy costs

There is a simple and straight relationship between green walls and decreased energy costs. If you have a soaring energy consumption cost, then you need to understand that by planting trees, you can reduce it commendably. A green living wall can help cool your house, and that way, the amount of energy consumption that goes into maintaining an air conditioner is reduced commendably.

Also, regular cleaning of your air conditioner is a tedious job which is not the case with green walls. To reduce the cost of energy in countries and places that experience heat throughout the year, planting of trees can do a magnificent job.

2.    The ability to purify the air around you

Plants can clean the very air that you breathe in and out. What you simply need to do is find out how well it can work for you or which plants work best for you.

Here is a bit of data that you might want to read about the air purification process carried out by plants.

• Bill Wolverton conducted a study at NASA back in 1989, in which he stated that it was not possible to guess how many plants would be required to purify the air around them. But purification of the air and its contaminants is still the best foot forward when bringing plants home.

According to him, two decent sized plants in every 100 square feet of internal space could make all the difference. Boston ferns were recommended as the best plant to remove air pollution, but they can’t be grown indoors. Golden pothos is also an obvious choice that can work well on plants.

• Plants can remove volatile toxins and 28 different indoor plants were reviewed by a study team under the 2009 study.
• Just one plant can improve the air quality by 25%. Two plants could improve the air quality by 75%.
• For a large room (26 x 26 feet), 16 plants could improve the air quality by 75%. With 32 plants, you could expect the best results easily.

3.    Removal of smog

Vertical gardens can’t remove smog but when you use the plants over your windows, you can easily create a curtain thick enough to prevent the smog from entering your home.

Function of green walls?

Green walls are living entities within your home. They have a multitude of functions other than just cleaning your air and removing volatile components from the air.

1.     Improves the aesthetic appeal

We have always liked greenery, and green walls are always attractive. They improve the way we look at life and appear as a bright side in our homes. The aesthetic appeal of a home is not just in its colors or design but also in the way you bring life into it. Making children aware of plants is tough these days. City dwellers have children with zero knowledge in terms of the plants that once grew around us. Keeping small plants is a way to provide essential information about them. Also, these small plants can dab into one’s curiosity, and a child’s curiosity can definitely be aroused using the living wall in your home.

2.     Reduces the noise level

City people know how harmful noises can be and also endure intolerable sound levels. By creating green walls, one can reduce the noise level immensely.

According to the University of Tennenese, planting two to three levels of plants can reduce the sound level by 7 Db.

Leyland Cypress is the best for homes as a living green wall. Plant species that can be used in gardens as noise reducing plants include Cryptomeria radicans, Indian hawthorn, dwarf buford holly, and oakleaf holly.

Plants can absorb sound energy and convert it into chemical energy through different physiological processes.

3.     Increases biodiversity

Biodiversification is essential. I understood the fact when I met a child who knew the names of only three plants at the age of 5. It was shocking that the family had not invited the child to understand more about plants and insects.

Biodiversification is not possible in city life because of how parents make peace with their child’s lack of knowledge. They also know the names of more video games than plants. The reality of children is changing, but the most aware parents are often finding a way to keep up with a child’s knowledge.

When you place a living wall, you are not just inviting the green plants home but also the insects and worms. These would also lead to increased pollination, biodiversifying the environment within your home.

1.     The façade life span can improve immensely

The lifespan of the walls can improve immensely if you use green wall technology. Living plants can prevent direct damage to the walls, increasing the lifespan of the walls by some more years.

Dust, rain, and sunlight can damage the external structure of your walls quickly and can harm the internal structures as well. With a green wall, this quick decay can be reduced considerably, prolonging the life span of the structures.

2.     Absorbs rainwater

External living walls can absorb the rainwater sufficiently. They can also evaporate some of it easily. Excess rainwater can be absorbed by the plants. Green walls can become self-sufficient when harvested with rain water.

3.     Growing vegetables and plants

Most of us these days don’t have the right to eat right. We buy from the local markets, which sell vegetables heavily laden with fertilizers. If you make a green wall, you can try growing small and big vegetables in it for yourself.

Green vegetables, flowers, and fruits that grow on vines can bring a kind of joy to your life that you will love to have.

4.     Lowers the dust content within the room’s environment

Green walls can make the environment cleaner and can capture the dust. Usually, plants would capture dust and create a clean environment. When you water them, you return the dust back to the soil. If you want to use the green walls for capturing the dust, you have to build them close to windows and doors that accumulate the dust.

5.     Trapping particulate matter

Trees do what filters do to us. The only difference between the two is that trees are living and filters are made of dead matter. Trapping the particulate matter inside is a way they help clean the environment. Exactly how much particulate matter can they trap within themselves?

The dust load will be calculated based on the formulas here.

W = W1 – W2/A (W= amount of dust; W1 is the initial weight of the leaf with dust and W2 is the leaf weight without dust).

The percentage of dust capture is considered low if it captures less than 10% of the dust. Medium for those that capture 11–20% of dust, and high if they capture more than 21% of dust.

Certain plant traits, like spiral, alternate, and wholesome leaf arrangements, trichomes or prominent veins, shorter internodes and petioles, and a broader lamina, are responsible for increased dust load.

Plant species like Albizzia lebbeck, Bougainvillea spectabilis, Ficus religiosa, Swietenia mahagoni are capable of capturing more dust than others. There are a whole lot of plants that can filter dust better.

Kinds and types of green walls

The kind and type of green walls are based on the way they are laid. There are various ways in which a green wall can be created. Modular panels are what people use to create a green wall.

Types of green walls	Characteristics
Media-free green walls	Steel frame, less maintenance, media, or water-free system, and promotes harvesting of these plants.
Freestanding media	Portable, biophilic benefits; hydrophobic technology can save up to 75% of water; and self-irrigation options are available with moisture sensors in place.
Loose medium	Loose soils can grow without any physical media erosion. These can’t be grown in areas with seismic activity.
Mat media	Water-inefficient systems require a water recirculation system. It is best suited for small installations and works best at no more than 8 feet in height.
Sheet media	Polyurethane sheet media with egg-crate patterns. Roots are cleansed of the mud when inserting the substrates into the urethane medium.
Structural media	Active living walls can force air to air flow through the plants. These are growth mediums that are neither loose nor mats and have the best features of both sheet and mat type media.

Common plants that can be used as living walls.

Find the commonest plants that can be best used as living walls, and find out why.

1.     Aechmea

One of the best bromeliads, these plants can tolerate drought very well.

Distinctive features:

• They can grow very well in the shade and can grow well in extremely dry and desert-like environments.
• Known to be air purifiers and radiation absorbers, these can clean the air around radiation-emitting instruments and apparatus.

2.     Tillandsia

Evergreen in nature, these are from the family Bromeliaceae. They are primarily found in forest areas, mountains, and deserts.

Distinctive features:

• The plants are covered with special cells called trichomes, which allow rapid absorption of water by the plants.
• They close the stomata during the day and open them at night. Thus, these plants release oxygen at night and absorb carbon dioxide. A great choice for indoor green wall formation.

3.     Vriesea

Another stunning bromeliad that can bloom and grow well.

Distinctive features:

Vriesea poelmanii is the plant species that will purify the air and also absorb radiation. High radiation zones can easily be those sites where this plant type can be placed.

Useful plants for green facades and plants for the sun

The useful plants that can be used as green facades are below.

1.     Basil

Basil is one of the distinctive plants that can work wonders as a living wall.

Distinctive features:

• Edible plant, which means you can add it to your food, chew it when stressed, and also smell it to reduce anxiety.
• They can grow in full- or part-sun environments.
• Basil is shown to increase cortisol levels in the blood and induce improved sleeping patterns.

2.     Chamomile

The plant is best known for improving different body functions. It is known to improve our respiratory, gastrointestinal, neuropsychiatric and infectious conditions.

Distinctive features:

• It can grow well in shade and light.
• The plant can grow in a container and can easily soften rock wall edges.
• The soil in which chamomile is made to grow needs to be moist, and not wet.
• They can thrive well in summer weather, and they are extremely drought-tolerant plants.
• There is no need to add fertilizer to the chamomile plant.

3.     Lavender

Lavender is a wonderful plant known for its fragrance and the color of its flowers.

A green lavender wall is a source of delight for those who have it.

Distinctive features:

• Drought-tolerant plant.
• Maintenance features are low for the plant.
• The plant is known for its herbal benefits and has been used for ages to heal, treat, and strengthen the functions of the human body.

4.     Strawberries

They are a delicious lot of fruits and do extremely well in vertical gardens.

Distinctive features:

• They can grow in soggy soils and do not require a water content that’s higher.
• At home, the strawberry plants are safe from snails and birds and can yield a fresh supply.
• They are extremely versatile in nature and are hardy plants.
• Absolutely low-maintenance plants by nature.

5.     Spinach

Easy to harvest, spinach grows great in vertical gardens and is being tried by many already.

Distinctive features:

• Spinach grows very well with aeroponic farming facilities.
• Gardening spinach becomes super easy.
• Spinach never requires a lot of light and can grow very well in shades.
• Water monitoring is not an issue to address when spinach is grown on the green walls.

6.     Lettuce

Lettuce is a hardy annual plant that can be cultivated very easily.

Distinctive features:

• It can grow in 90% less water conditions when grown in a vertical garden.
• They are good greens, and the harvesting and growth are quite close.

Even shade plants can be chosen if you are planning to plant them on walls that receive less than 10% of the light from the external environment.

There are many plants that people use, and these are the most common house plants, specific to their atypical characteristics. The list goes as follows:

More commonly used plants

Succulents, vines, and herbs like oxalis are the best plant sources.

7.     Ferns and grasses are a great option

• Fatsia japonica
• Asplenium scolopendrium
• Dryopteris erythrosora
• Polypodium vulgare

Grass types:

• Heuchera Marmalade 
• Heuchera Cezanne
• Heuchera Villoma Autumn Bride
• Heuchera Sugar Frosting
• Blue fescue, Festuca glauca
• Pheasant’s tail grass, Anemanthele
• Lilyturf, Ophiopogon planiscapus
• Ribbon grass, Phalaris arundinacea picta Feesey

Can we conclude on green walls?

It is highly impossible to conclude on green walls. Living walls have been automatically present within us and every old, dilapidated building always had one. If you ever have been near them, you might have felt their cool, instantly refreshing touch and that is what makes me write about bringing them back in our lives.

In this age of concrete, green walls could be a passage to your old ways and practices. Forgetting plants or trees won’t make us an advanced race but knowing how to keep them with us even in these changing times would surely help.

If you want to find out more on green walls, you can connect us and we can help you connect to appropriate people in this trade.