I’m a bit of a green-thumbed lady – having grown up in a house called ‘The Orchard’, with a bohemian mum and a Devonshire-lad dad - so how could I not love the great outdoors? I’ve often dreamt of having my own plot of land; with a lawn wrapped in blindingly colourful borders, a vegetable plot, a herb garden near the back door and, of course, the wild bit at the bottom… followed by a maze. (It’s my dream so it can be as demanding as I like.) But in reality, it will be a very long time before I can start pottering in my own soil.

Or so I thought. I have rarely been as inspired as I am by the work of Patrick Blanc – a botanist and agricultural architect, the pioneer of the vertical garden. His invention proves his talent as an innovative ecological engineer, for which he has become the 15th target of the prestigious ‘Haute Qualité Environnementale,’ a calibre in green architecture in France, founded on the standards of sustainable development and first laid out by the 1992 Earth Summit. For those of you that don’t like getting your hands dirty, you’ll like this; you can’t fail to be impressed by the innovative agricultural design of Patrick Blanc – and did I mention there was no soil involved?

Here’s how it works: 

A metal frame is erected parallel to the wall of the building; the metal frame supports a 1cm thick, PVC plate, onto which two layers of 3-millimetre-thick polyamide felt are stapled. This felt cleverly mimics cliff-growing mosses, thus supporting the roots of various plants. A system of valve-controlled pipes supply a nutrient solution, which consists of dissolved minerals, in order to promote healthy plant growth. The felt soaks up the ‘mineral water’, allowing the roots of the plants to take the nutrients they need, whilst the excess solution trickles down the structure, where it is collected at the bottom of the wall in a gutter. From there it is re-injected into the network of pipes and continues in this cycle. Plants used are specifically chosen for their ability to thrive in these conditions – rock climbers!

Many plants have naturally climbed walls and those weed-like wanderers have a pesky habit of forcing their fingers into cracks in the brick-work; degrading the structural wealth of a building. Climbing plants and buildings are rarely firm friends, since the plants can’t keep their hands to themselves. On the constant search for nutrients, they spread their roots, and damage the architecture they inhabit.

Enter Patrick Blanc: Blanc’s design ensures that the roots of the plants are constantly nourished; therefore eliminating their need to venture to pastures (or wall crevices) new. Ergo, wall and plant can live harmoniously forever more. And that’s the best part of this idea – it is sustainable. (Or so it should be, ensuring the design and choice of plants has been accurately calculated – we won’t go into the Islington Living Wall fiasco, those poor plants never had a chance.) With the sun-soakers at the top and the big-drinking, shady characters at the bottom, even the plants co-exist in harmony. With constant nutrients from the treated water, trickling down the structure, and the sun sharing his sustenance, these living walls should maintain a nicely balanced diet. 

It’s not just the plants that are enjoying the healthy high life, however, as it is us too – the public - who can enjoy the delights of these walls. No – they’re not edible – although that would be something special…like the plants in the roof garden at Reading International Solidarity Centre…but that’s another garden story. These plants don’t just provide a beautiful makeover to some otherwise concrete jungles; these are the Living Walls - Les Murs Végétale – they breathe and they cleanse our air, drinking up the over-abundance of our cities’ carbon dioxide and replacing it with oxygen.

It can’t get much better than that. Bringing colour to our cityscape, good for the environment, minimal effort, (apparently they only need to be attended to twice yearly.) Blanc’s positive influence has even imbued the catwalk; in 2007, he designed the backdrop of Stella McCartney’s 2008 Spring/Summer collection at Paris Fashion Week. He also designed the ‘Robe Végétale’ - the infamous wedding dress for Jean Paul Gaultier’s fashion show in 2002. 

And guess what – you can actually buy your own ‘Living Wall’ kit to set up a miniature version all of your own. So I don’t need a large amount of land to start making my garden haven a reality – I just need to have claim over a wall. Perfect.

I am much anticipating Blanc’s latest revelations this year, which will include work in The Mount in Massachusetts, The New York Botanical Garden, and Ronald Lu & Partners' Green Wall in Hong Kong.