What’s with Living Green Walls?

In an effort to combat the rising levels of carbon Dioxide in our towns and cities, the introduction of controlled greenery onto roofs has boomed. But still more needs to be done, and specialist companies are now installing green walls and screens both inside and out to increase the adsorption factor. But what is with living green walls?

While they might sound like something out of a low-budget horror movie, living green walls are becoming one of the fastest growing – if you’ll excuse the pun – areas of business interior systems.

As populations increase worldwide, there is increasing requirement for housing and business premises, leading to urbanisation at an accelerated pace. Much of this demand is met by building on existing brownfield sites and by building up instead of out, but this is not enough, and we are still swallowing up green areas within and surrounding our towns and cities and that is becoming a problem.

Heat and CO2 generation is making cities with less green space unbearable and in order to combat it we need to have more greenery to soak everything up. Since we are using up ground level green spaces, we need to look for alternatives. Aerial views of major cities will show that there is a growing trend for green roofs – plant matter installed on the flat and sloping surfaces of buildings – is growing, but these are only having a limited impact on the problem. The latest trend is to incorporate green walls and screens along with foliage on roof to increase the overall coverage of vegetation in the urban environment.

Green walls and sections may sound like excuses for racks of bedding plants like something out of a garden centre but are actually far more technical and are designed to fill out the wall area without looking like a shop front. Green walls are purpose built to get the maximum greenery out of specific plants that meld together to form a solid partition that has added mental and physical health benefits.

Properly installed green walls can become a real feature for a business and one that can be constructed to include business elements such as logo’s and other company signage, though you may have to carry out periodic cutting back, depending upon what plants you use.

So how are green screens made and what plants are best used on them?Fundamentally, green screens come in two forms; a simple framework that a climbing plant quickly fills, or a series of contained ‘pots’ that can be used to hold smaller species of non-climbing plants. Green walls can, theoretically be populated with any semi-hardy plant, flower, or even fruit species, but some flora types respond better than others.

Some of the best green screens are populated with hardy perennials such as Ivy. This fast growing yet neat plant can fill a screen structure quickly and will give a good level of security and privacy while reinforcing your green credentials. Ivy’s are ideal for this kind of placement since they can put up with all manner of weather and temperature ranges and can survive quite happily in shaded areas such as internal spaces. They have a plethora of glossy leaves that always look good and take little care. Perfect for any area that you choose to have them installed in.

Ivy living green screens are the choice of many because of these reasons, and if left to tend themselves, they soon become thick enough to form an imponderable screen, and you can also get an established ivy green screen fitted so that the barrier element of it is assured from day one. Getting green screen fences fitted is easy too. You can carry out an internet search based on the town or city in which you live, like, Living Green Walls Installation Ashby, or even just Living Wall Systems and that will bring up a list of companies that specialise in green walls. From there, you can communicate your needs and they will have a solution especially for you.

Green screens can be installed anywhere – inside or out – and look great with whatever plants you choose to install in them. They can be a good addition to an open office space, and help give workers a heightened feeling of wellness, or they can be used outside to effectively mark barriers.

Cement your green credentials and contact a specialist supplier today.

Hedera Screens was established in 2007. More than 12 years, we’ve been creating a beautiful living green screen, living green walls for indoor and outdoor projects across the UK.