Vertical gardening has a lot to offer the space deprived gardener. As our dwellings seem to become larger and the surrounding open space reduced, the need to turn open space into green space is even more pressing. A sad part of this loss of space is the lost opportunity for gardens and gardening, particularly for the children in our communities.
Whereas once a garden for free, open play would have been the norm in almost every Australian child's life, these days, those spaces are often compromised.
Children can become disconnected from the natural world and some children might be limited to accessing public gardens to have any sort of 'hands on' understanding and relationship with nature including growing plants, food production and the quality of the air we breathe.
Vertical gardens in Australia might hold the key for families wanting to nurture a relationship with nature in their children who are challenged with limited space.
Vertical gardening offers parents an opportunity to inject much needed greenery into a small space but to importantly provide an active gardening 'experience' for their children so that they can enjoy the sensory experience and satisfaction of growing plants to fruition.
Vertical garden systems that are soil media based and open tiered, offer a traditional gardening 'experience' in that the kids (and adults) can dig in them with their trowels and plant seeds, seedlings or even advanced plants.