Living walls have the power to merge the serenity and peacefulness of a secluded forest with the hustle-and-bustle of city life, transforming an otherwise uninviting structure into an urban oasis. To some, parking garages and other concrete facades are unsightly yet necessary; but for property managers, these spaces are blank canvases of opportunity upon which property managers can add a splash of color and life to their buildings, boosting curb appeal without taking up valuable square footage.

A customer recently installed a living wall to add color to a parking garage. While the initial design was visually appealing, the general contractor that managed the installation failed to account for plant spacing as well as sunlight & watering needs of the different types of plants. When many areas started to die off because of these issues, the LandCare team was tasked with reviving the wall. Our team took immediate action, redesigning the wall to include plant varieties that would survive and adapt to the conditions on the wall and kept the few plants that were growing successfully. They made decisions on what plants to remove, what plants could be transplanted into better groupings, and ultimately what plants to replace, keeping in mind the designer’s original plan to mimic the visual intent. They consolidated some patches of sedum that were healthy but spaced too far apart, transplanted some varieties of shrubs to be combined with patches of the same material, and then created new sections of plants to fill in the gaps.

Today, the redesigned wall is thriving and has maintained the look of the original design. With the horticultural expertise of its managers, LandCare stayed on budget by moving salvageable material to new locations. The team successfully created a new, easy-to-maintain living wall for our client.

With proper planning and a thoughtful design, landscapes can add natural beauty and bring life to nearly any space – regardless of location.