DIY Vertical Gardening Ideas for Kids: Easy Tips for Choosing Plants, Maintenance and Benefits

If you ever wanted to grow your own garden but lack the necessary space then there is good news for you - you can now easily grow plants on walls, fences or even balconies. Vertical gardening is a fun and creative way to grow a garden in small spaces including apartments, offices, classrooms, small balconies, etc. You can design your very own green wall to make your space look beautiful and refreshing. Let’s explore more about this enjoyable way of gardening.

What Is Vertical Gardening?

Vertical gardening is a space-efficient method for growing plants on walls or fences using small hanging containers that makes a space look more greener and beautiful. It is a fantastic idea for saving space while beautifying them. 

This unique gardening method has been famously used for thousands of years to grow plants in the past. One of its renowned examples is the Hanging Gardens built by ancient Babylonians which is among the seven wonders of the world.

Fun DIY Vertical Garden Ideas for Kids

I. Shoe Pocket Organiser Garden

Use an old over-the-door shoe organiser to plant herbs like mint, parsley, basil or dill. You can fill the pockets of the organiser with compost or soil to plant these herbs and hang it on a sunny fence or wall. Keep watering them gently to grow a super cool garden that is very easy to maintain.

II. Pallet Garden

You can take help of a grown-up to get an old wooden pallet and to turn it into a beautiful vertical garden. First, put the pallet flat on the ground to fill the gaps with soil or compost to plant seeds in it. Gently lean it up with the support of a wall. This kind of arrangement is basically great for growing small vegetables or fruits like strawberries. 

III. Stacked Tyre Planters

Stack old tyres, paint them with vibrant colours and grow plants in them to create a beautiful flower garden that will brighten your space. Simply add soil inside each tyre and plant flowers, vegetables or herbs of your choice. Each of these tyres serves as a little garden bed for growing, and stacking that turns into a tower garden.

IV. Hanging Bottle Garden

Recycling old plastic bottles to grow plants is an environment-friendly way to make your space green. You can take the help of an adult to create plastic bottles pots by cutting the bottles into halves. Fill and hang the bottles with a rope or stick. Such small pots are best to grow tiny herbs like micro greens, cress, parsley, or tiny succulents.

V. Wooden Shelf Planter

Use an old wooden ladder or shelf to hang colourful pots on each step by decorating it with garden decoration miniatures like butterflies, mushrooms, ladybugs, etc. Fill each pot with soil or compost to grow different flowers in each. This will give you a way to create multiple levels of greenery without taking up much floor space.

Easy Tips for Choosing Plants

For your vertical garden picking the right plants is very important. Here are some easy to grow plants that are an ideal choice for a vertical garden:

• Herbs: Some of the easy to grow herbs that smell great and can be used for cooking too are coriander, mint, parsley and basil.
• Flowers: Colourful flowers like marigolds, verbena and pansies, are some of the cheerful flowers that attract butterflies.
• Vegetables: Pick some root veggies like radishes or spring onions and other vegetables like cherry tomatoes that grow easily in small containers.
• Succulents: These water retaining plants are perfect for kids to grow as they don’t need much water and stay longer.

To start with, grow some fast-growing plants as seeing quick results will keep you motivated.

Simple Ways to Maintain

Maintain your vertical garden easily in these simple ways:

• Watering: Plants mostly need to be watered once in 1-2 days. Only if the soil is dry, then water the plant. Overwatering can rot the root.
• Sunlight: Grow your garden in a bright place where there is sunlight for at least 4-6 hours. 
• Feeding: Keep fertilizing once in a month as it will help to keep your plants healthy.
• Weeding: Don’t let any weeds grow between your plants as it can absorb the nutrients from soil. 
• Pruning: Clean the dead leaves or flowers to promote the growth of new leaves and flowers.

Benefits of Vertical Gardening for Kids

• Learning Responsibility: Kids will learn to take responsibility by caring for plants daily.
• Encourages Healthy Eating: Watching their own vegetables grow will make kids excited about eating them!
• Boosts Creativity: By engaging in designing and decorating garden kids will become creative.
• Improves Mental Health: Spending time with nature will reduce their stress making them happier.
• Helps the Environment: Growing plants will clean the air.

• Great Bonding Activity: Gardening is a wonderful way to bond with your kids that helps them learn lots of new things.