Living Walls

Not really about Plumbing or HVAC, but is was too cool to miss. If you are interested in adding a bit of art to your garden, check out this awesome idea I found in the North Country Times:

By DEAN FOSDICK For the Associated Press 

When landscaper Darien Ball began building a "living wall" to highlight the Tiffany stained-glass lamp exhibit at the Biltmore Estate this summer, he reached for some drafting paper first, then garden tools. Ball sketched a simple schematic and then brought it to life with colorful foliage.
The 6-by-24-foot floral tapestry panels ---- vertical gardens ---- were crafted using a plant-by-the-numbers system similar to the old paint-by-number kits for children.
"We were looking to find the right shading and details to match the Tiffany glasswork," Ball said by phone from the 8,000-acre private estate in Asheville, N.C. "We wanted some themes that would stand out on their own."
The color palettes on the schematic were numbered to distinguish plant varieties. Variegated liriope, a groundcover, was No. 1, Electric Lime coleus, or painted nettle plants, No. 2, and so on. The colors match those of butterflies, tree branches and dragonflies ---- all iconic subjects on the Tiffany lamps, windows, vases and bowls created for wealthy patrons in the late 19th century.
"It was difficult to find the right shading and plant details to match the Tiffany patterns, but using darker hues worked," Ball said. "We also had to remember that the plants would grow, so we left room for expansion."
Light levels and water requirements are the two most important living-wall design elements, he said.
"You've got to think maintenance before you get too carried away with design," he said. "Plants with colorful foliage are easier to work with than flowering plants that need deadheading."
The Biltmore's floral tapestry is just one living-wall variation. Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa., has designed another. It is said to be America's largest living wall, with 47,000 plants from 25 different woodland plant species. Most are ferns.
"No geometric shapes," said Lorrie Baird, a senior gardener who cares for Longwood's living wall. "We allow them to do what they would in a natural environment."
Plants that need more light went on top, she said, and those requiring less light were placed toward the bottom.
"Watering is done automatically," Baird said. "We start at the top and it flows down to the next panel and then down to the next. The lower panels get the runoff."
Gardeners can create their own living walls at home, she said. Kits with planters, water barriers, pumps and soaker hoses are available via the Internet.
"A developing trend is to have vertical herb gardens," Baird said. "A lot of people are finding space for them on their kitchen walls."
Formal gardens like those at Longwood and the Biltmore are meant to educate as well as decorate.
"One service we provide is making people aware that living walls exist and that they can do them on their own," said Patricia Evans, Longwood spokeswoman.
Douglas and Diane Corkhill, Asheville residents who visit the Biltmore frequently, subscribe to that.
"Many of the things we've done around our house have been inspired by things we've seen at the Biltmore," Douglas said.
The Corkhills would like to try the living wall but haven't found the time yet. "We were able to talk with the crew about it while they were putting it together," Douglas said. "We took a friend back later and saw the finished product. Really terrific."
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/ap/lifestyles/article_8d0a1c0f-dd60-5e67-a61c-f2c88c14be95.html#ixzz1W94j51K9