Shocking Contrasts: Chartreuse and Silver Living Wall Garden

Hands down, my favorite garden of the season to design and build was my chartreuse green and silver gray living wall designed mostly with perennials from Walters Gardens which captivated passers-by and filled my garden with a bit of color contrast happiness. Silver in the garden is a real game-changer.

Plants Included in Design –

• Hakonechloa grass ‘All Gold’
• Heuchera ‘Twist of Lime’
• Hosta ‘Blue Ivory’
• Hosta ‘Island Breeze’
• Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’

One of the super cool things about using perennials in your containers or living wall gardens is that you can plant the perennials in the ground at the end of the season, allowing them to hibernate through winter, then reuse them in the spring for another planting project. A great way to have fun in the garden and also save money.

The secret to the Soil

It’s all about retaining moisture when you plant a living wall — lifting the plants up above the ground so that they receive more airflow means the soil can dry out. Be sure to use a moisture retentive mix to help ensure your success.

My favorite homemade mix formula –

• 1 part organic potting soil with worm castings
• 1 part organic rotted composted manure
• 1 part plain compost

If you want more information on how to grow living walls, please reference my book Grow a Living Wall; Create Vertical Gardens with Purpose. Special thanks to Walters Gardens for providing the plants for my chartreuse green and silver gray living wall and the Organic Mechanics Soil company for providing my organic worm-casting filled soil.