Vertical Gardening Ideas for Missouri Homeowners

If you're short on garden space or simply want to add more greenery to a patio, fence, or outdoor living area, vertical gardening can help you make better use of your landscape. Instead of spreading plants across the ground, vertical gardens use walls, trellises, containers, and other structures to grow upward.

For St. Louis homeowners, vertical gardens can be particularly useful for smaller yards, patios, and spaces where traditional planting beds aren't practical. From climbing flowers to fresh herbs, there are plenty of vertical garden ideas that can thrive in Missouri's climate.

Key Takeaways

• Vertical gardening maximizes space by growing plants upward on walls, trellises, fences, and containers.
• Flowers, vegetables, herbs, vines, ferns, and succulents can all work in vertical gardens with the right growing conditions.
• Proper sunlight exposure, watering, plant spacing, and structural support are essential for long-term success.

What Is Vertical Gardening?

Vertical gardening is a method of growing plants upward rather than primarily across traditional garden beds. Plants may grow naturally along a vertical support, or containers can be arranged vertically to maximize available space.

Depending on the design, a vertical gardening structure might include a trellis, wall planter, fence, pergola, hanging baskets, planter boxes, or vertical pocket planter. It is also a common DIY landscaping idea for many homeowners, especially if they are looking to create a simple vertical herb garden or small wall.

What Are the Benefits of Vertical Gardening in St. Louis?

One of the biggest advantages of vertical gardening is space maximization. St. Louis-area homes don't always have large planting areas, especially on smaller lots in communities such as Kirkwood, Webster Groves, and parts of St. Louis City. Growing vertically allows homeowners to add greenery without sacrificing valuable patio or lawn space.

Vertical gardening can also make harvesting herbs, fruits, and vegetables easier because plants are positioned at more accessible heights. When properly spaced, vertical plants may receive better airflow and sunlight exposure, potentially supporting plant health and disease reduction.

A living wall or climbing plants can also disguise an unattractive fence, create privacy screening, soften hardscape features, or add height to an otherwise flat landscape.

How to Create a Vertical Garden

Start by choosing a location and evaluating its growing conditions. Watch how sunlight moves across the area throughout the day. A sunny south- or west-facing wall will support very different plants than a shaded north-facing fence.

Next, determine how much weight your vertical garden structure must support. Pots, wet soil, mature plants, and irrigation water can become surprisingly heavy. Wall planters and hanging baskets require adequate support, while larger living walls should be designed with structural stability in mind.

Plant spacing matters, too. It's easy to overcrowd a vertical garden when plants are small. Consider each plant's mature size and leave enough room for airflow and healthy growth.

Finally, think about watering needs. Containers often dry faster than traditional garden beds during hot Missouri summers. Drip irrigation or built-in irrigation systems can make larger vertical gardens easier to maintain.

Vertical Garden Ideas for Your Landscape

Vertical gardens can take many forms, whether it's as a garden against your house or a raised garden bed in your yard. Consider how the feature will complement your existing landscape. Try one of these ideas:

• Trellis garden: Panel trellises, arch trellises, and obelisk trellises provide vertical support for climbing flowers, annual vines, perennial vines, and certain edibles.
• Wall planters: Containers can be arranged at different heights to create an organized layout while adding color to patios and outdoor gathering areas.
• Living wall: Uses panels, vertical planters, or pocket systems to cover larger surfaces with greenery. Some more advanced living walls even incorporate built-in irrigation systems to simplify watering.
• 3-tier raised garden bed: Different levels provide additional growing space without requiring a large footprint.
• Pergolas: Help train climbing plants along posts and overhead structures provides greenery while potentially adding shade and privacy to an outdoor living space.

Best Plants for Missouri Vertical Gardens

Whether you're using hanging baskets, trellises, or other containers, there are several types of native Missouri plants that can thrive in a vertical garden design:

• Flowers: Annual vines and annual flowers such as petunias, lantana, and impatiens for containers or native coral honeysuckle for a climbing option that also attracts hummingbirds work well.
• Fruits and vegetables: Edibles that climb or can be trained vertically are particularly useful. Tomatoes, pole beans, peas, cucumbers, and some squash varieties can grow well with adequate vertical support.
• Herbs: Basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, chives, and mint work well in pots and planter boxes. A vertical herb garden near a patio or outdoor kitchen keeps fresh herbs within easy reach.
• Ferns: Shaded vertical gardens can incorporate ferns and other plants that prefer protection from intense afternoon sun.
• Sedums and succulents: These plants can work in shallower containers and vertical pocket planters, provided the selected varieties are appropriate for Missouri's climate and the containers provide adequate drainage.

Tip: Always consider your sun and shade conditions, watering, and plant depth when selecting plants.

Maintaining a Vertical Garden

Vertical gardens require many of the same maintenance practices as traditional planting beds, but containers deserve additional attention. For best maintenance practices:

• Check soil moisture regularly, especially during St. Louis summers, since elevated containers can dry quickly.
• Prune regularly to help prevent plants from overcrowding one another.
• Inspect trellises, wall gardens, hanging baskets, and container supports as plants mature. Adequate support is especially important for fruiting plants and heavy perennial vines.
• Follow seasonal weather patterns to determine which plants and containers can remain outdoors and which require seasonal protection or replacement.

Bring Vertical Garden Ideas Into Your Landscape

Vertical gardening can add color, privacy, fresh food, and visual interest without requiring a large amount of yard space. Poynter can help you choose the right combination of plants and structures to turn an overlooked fence, patio wall, or narrow garden area into an intentional part of your landscape.

Contact us today to start planning your next landscape project.

FAQs

What plants grow best in vertical gardens?

Plants with relatively shallow roots or natural climbing habits often work well in vertical gardens. Options include annual flowers, perennial vines, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, herbs such as basil and thyme, ferns, and certain sedums and succulents. For Missouri gardens, select varieties suited to local temperatures and your property's specific sun and shade conditions.

Can you DIY a vertical garden?

Yes. Simple vertical garden DIY projects using containers, hanging baskets, planter boxes, or trellises can be manageable for many homeowners. Start with a sturdy structure, select plants suited to Missouri's climate, account for sunlight and watering needs, and make sure every container drains properly. Larger living walls and landscape-integrated structures may benefit from professional design and installation.

Is vertical gardening budget-friendly?

Vertical gardens can be relatively budget-friendly. Growing tips include being resourceful with existing fences, containers, planter boxes, or even an old stepladder can create an attractive garden at a manageable price point.

What are common mistakes in vertical gardening?

Common mistakes include failing to account for the weight of mature plants and wet soil, choosing plants unsuited to the site's sunlight exposure, overcrowding plants, providing inadequate structural support, and overwatering or failing to provide proper drainage.