How to create a vertical garden

You don’t need a sprawling garden to establish an outdoor haven – vertical gardening is a useful way to add greenery to a petite patio, as well as encouraging wildlife. Follow our tips to build your own vertical garden…

• Reuse old pallets to create a planter. Firstly, make sure the pallet is safe to use by sanding it down and removing any protruding nails. Then, treat it with wood paint, varnish or a sealant. Depending on the style of pallet, you can hang pots off the slats on the flat side. Or, if you’re handy at DIY, you can take the wooden planks off a pallet and attach them to another pallet to create horizontal shelves.

• You can also use drainpipes to create space-saving planters – half round gutters and brackets are available in most DIY and hardware shops. Simply drill a few holes in the bottom of the guttering for drainage, then attach it to a wall with brackets. Fill with compost, then add a selection of plants (ideally ones with shallow roots, such as herbs). If you hang the gutters above one another, when you water them, it will trickle to the plants below.

• Buy drainpipe pot holders to attach small, lightweight pots to vertical drainpipes and add a splash of colour to your outdoor space – small flowers and herbs can be grown in these without needing to repot them.

• To squeeze more potted plants into your outdoor space than you would be able to if you only relied on ground space, display them on the rungs of a wooden ladder.