Living Wall

This is a 1 square meter living wall I designed and built. It’s a fairly complex mixed media project, requiring a waterproof frame that contains many places for plants to live.

The basic design is a rectangular prism made of wood on 4 sides, plastic on one, and open on the 6th. On top and bottom there are two “buckets” - I water into the top bucket (generally 4-10 liters depending on the state of the soil), it slowly drips down through the wall thanks to a few dozen small holes in the 1x6 between that bucket and the main space, and drain excess out of the bottom bucket - it has a spigot so I can do so in a controlled fashion.

It’s built with waterproof redwood, I used a friend’s saw to get precise cuts since it needs to remain watertight.

This project has taught me a lot about horticulture, a subfield of plant biology I’ve always wished I knew more about. After reading a few books on the topic to help improve the wall, I ended up getting some supplemental grow lights that give 300-1000 FC of light on a timer to make sure the plants can all thrive.

The wall has matured nicely. Here are some close-ups of the plants thriving in the wall:

List of plants27 plants

Bottom row

Pothos

Epipremnum aureum

Trailing vine, glossy heart-shaped leaves.

Umbrella plant (long petioles)

Schefflera actinophylla

The tall-stemmed one with stretched leaf stalks.

Maidenhair Fern

Adiantum sp.

Delicate fan-shaped fronds on dark wiry stems.

"Oval Fern"

Unidentified fern

ID to confirm

My placeholder name — small ovate leaflets.

Umbrella plant (short petioles)

Schefflera arboricola

Same family, more compact leaf stalks.

Row 2

Croton (round-leaf form)

Codiaeum variegatum

Bold orange/yellow/green variegation.

Silver Brake Fern

Pteris argyraea

White/silver stripe down each frond center.

Spider Plant

Chlorophytum comosum

Arching striped leaves; throws plantlets.

Row 3

Polka Dot Begonia

Begonia maculata

Silver-spotted angel-wing leaves, red undersides.

Polka Dot Plant

Hypoestes phyllostachya

Pink-freckled small leaves.

Neon Pothos

Epipremnum aureum 'Neon'

The bright chartreuse pothos in this row.

Syngonium

Syngonium podophyllum

A whole cluster of them.

Umbrella plant

Schefflera sp.

Yet another umbrella.

Small-leaf Philodendron

Philodendron sp.

ID to confirm

Round-ish, quite small leaves.

Tradescantia mix

Tradescantia sp.

ID to confirm

Possibly 'Nanouk' / 'Marina' — variety to confirm.

Baby Rubber Plant

Peperomia obtusifolia

Thick, glossy, spoon-shaped leaves.

Unknown fern (large bluish leaves)

Unidentified fern

ID to confirm

A big blue-green one I haven't identified yet.

Row 4

Pothos (new, in moss)

Epipremnum aureum

The fresh batch rooted into the moss system.

Row 5

Purple Shamrock

Oxalis triangularis

Deep purple, three triangular leaflets.

Oyster Plant

Tradescantia spathacea

Moses-in-the-cradle — the longer, blade-like Tradescantia.

Mother of Thousands

Kalanchoe daigremontiana

Succulent; the flowering one from Home Depot.

Row 6

Purple Passion

Gynura aurantiaca

A recent addition, June 2026. Adaxial leaf surfaces are green with with purple trichomes, which makes for a cool optical effect depending on the angle of incidence looking at the leaf.

Stara

Monstera deliciosa

ID to confirm

The only remaininst monstera from my original batch of 3, which survived many months of almost zero light (<40 FC at daily peak) and conistent dessication due to the soil pocket being too small for it. Earned her name through a Claude transcription error, and it's stuck. I've bought several products just for her, including Cal-mag foliar spray magnesium, Kelpak kelp biostimulant, two mini-water-pockets of sphagnum moss for aerial roots to increase water supply, and most recently added a new soil pocket to do the same. After 9 months of slow decline and no new leaves, she's finally recovering and starting to grow vigorously.

Unknown fern

Unidentified fern

ID to confirm

Another unplaced fern.

Bird's Nest Fern

Asplenium nidus

Glossy, ripple-edged fronds in a rosette.

Selaginella

Selaginella sp.

Low, mossy, fern-ally ground cover. A new addition June 2026, I've always wanted to grow this early-diverged plant and am excited to try doing so. Placed in a hand-sewn add-on fabric pot in the shade of a vigorously-growing Ficus Audrey.

Top — center

Firefly Petunia

Petunia 'Firefly' · Light Bio

Bioluminescent

The glowing centerpiece. The rest of the top row repeats species already listed below.