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:
