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California Native Green Wall Revisited

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It’s four years since Patrick Blanc installed the vertical garden at the Drew School. I’ve been curious how it was doing. I was hugely impressed when I saw it, even though it was late fall and the plants were getting cut back for the winter. I always intended to check back on it, see how it would endure over time. As you can see, it’s doing great. It’s lush and green; it’s not organized into as much of a tapestry as some of his other walls and it’s not particularly full of springtime flowers, but it’s still a dramatic, exuberant, awesome thing to see on the side of a building.

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The planting has simplified over time, with fewer species. Lower sections are mostly covered by ferns, with patches of oxalis and heuchera. I couldn’t tell exactly what’s growing up top, except for an Island Bush Poppy in bloom, but some of the shrubs have grown quite large.

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A couple of sections are patchy, with felt showing, but it doesn’t ruin the overall effect.

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And so much of it is exuberantly lush and green. It’s great to see natives filling the side of a building.

4 Responses to “California Native Green Wall Revisited”

  1. May 5th, 2015 at 9:51 am

    Town Mouse says:

    That’s so impressive, especially having it in CA! I saw several green wall projects in Portland a little while ago, but that was Oregon… Wonder how much water this gets.

  2. May 6th, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    ryan says:

    The irrigation recirculates like an enormous water feature, but that’s as much as I know. I’m curious how much water it uses. I heard water trickling down behind the plants while I was there.

  3. July 11th, 2015 at 10:59 am

    Josh B says:

    This is is so awesome!

  4. July 11th, 2015 at 11:01 am

    DP Environments says:

    This is truly a creative idea. I need to incorporate that into some of my designs.

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