27 vertical garden ideas

Whether you've recently been doing a spot of garden landscaping or not, it's easy to get hold of pallets to start a statement vertical garden. Choose a mixture of trailing plants and florals for a full on effect and heaps of fragrance.

Choose hardy climbers like ivy, passionflower, and jasmine for quick growth up and over an unsightly wall.

If you're looking for a winning budget garden idea, don't be throwing those empty cans away. A little spray paint, string, and savoir-faire will recycle these nicely to make them part of a jazzy vertical garden for hardly any money at all.

Garden rooms are there to be beautiful and practical too, if yours is small but needs a little more greenery to help the inside better reflect the view outdoors, hoist your vertical garden up and let those plants dangle down from the ceiling. It's a really simple but gorgeous garden room idea.

Vertical gardens take a more traditional approach, using everything from one or more of these pergolas to containers to use the vertical plane within the garden. So we love the idea of using old ladder space for a rustic display.

The best balconies combine space saving functionality and beauty. Use the different levels of your railing for a multidimensional display and you'll be sure to impress any passerby too.

A full and thriving greenhouse is what it's all about. Keep yours busy with genius DIY greenhouse, like using sidewalls and ceiling space again from which to grow and display your vertical garden.

Your walls and fences can become an attraction in themselves through paint techniques, planting schemes, creative materials, or adornments.

Pergolas, screens, and hedges also offer further opportunities for your creativity, from a recycled old bed frame – perhaps to support plants and screen an area – to a tapestry of a mixed shrub hedging.

So add some drama to your outdoor living space by growing up your pergola.

Hanging baskets needn't be boring and they are one of the simplest tools to get a vertical garden blooming. Another super easy way to include vertical interest, you can try containers on windowsills, balconies or along walls too.

Vertical and indoor gardening go hand in hand so don't feel limited to just using your outdoor space. Grow herbs upwards for a cute and tasty display no matter where you hang this little masterpiece.

Growing up a trellis that frames a seating or outdoor dining area is a great visual and a natural way to zone your garden space decoratively too.

Plant your own growing art in a picture frame, we love this vertical succulent garden for a focal point like no other.

Not sure what to do with your DIY hanging planters or cheap buys from 10 summers ago? Play with levels using garden tables and attach some to a free, sturdy garden wall for an eclectic display.

At its simplest, a vertical garden is just a container or containers full of soil with drainage holes and a spot on the wall in the sun, the more characterful the better. And of course a fabulous way to add a burst of color.

When you start taking notice of the vertical element all kinds of ideas come to mind to draw the eye up with eclectic arrangements. The power of three is a thing even in gardening...

Tripod structures have long been a valuable tool in the garden to add vertical punctuation points and support plants. A splash of paint will transform them into something special.

Once you really look at the vertical axis you may be surprised at just how much you can achieve to complete your garden's vision. So look up, and grow up.

Using cottage garden plants to brighten up a plain white trellis is a fine vertical gardening idea for period and modern homes. The bees will love it too.

‘Vertical gardens are well suited for micro garden spaces where options are limited. In urban areas, clever design ideas are key to make the most of the space,’ says Joe Raboine, director of residential hardscapes at Belgard.

You can create extra levels by having a stepped area where you can plant a variety of foliage and flowers on each level.

Make sure you use every inch of space – even a balcony ceiling can have baskets hanging from it and we love Ikea's Äppelros idea of filling them full of ivy that will naturally hang down.

Trailing plants are a great option because they will add instant length and interest to a blank space.

Designed for herbs – but you could use it for any plants, a wooden stand like this one from Overstock is ideal for backyards or a garden that's small. You could even have a row of them side by side to create a proper ‘wall’.

Amy Andrychowicz, gardening expert and author of Vertical Vegetables: Simple Projects that Deliver More Yield in Less Space, and founder of Get Busy Gardening, made this clever frame from unused garden tools.

‘This upcycled garden tool fan trellis puts a fun twist on a classic vertical garden design, and gives old rusty or broken tools new life. Not only would it be a cute addition to any garden, it's a great conversation starter too,’ says Amy.

Create a vertical nook in your backyard with these vertical slat garden screens from Cuckooland. As well as providing a frame for climbers to navigate as they grow, they will also let in light. They come in pairs or as a four so you can use them to zone a specific area in your garden that could include seats.

Front porches are a good place to start your vertical garden – you can encourage growth by adding a trellis behind existing pots and planters. Ikea's Askholm trellis can be hung vertically or horizontally, this is a great idea if you want to create a ‘living’ wall.

If you don't want to cover your wall in climbers and prefer a more simple approach then consider the Stratton wall pots from Garden Trading. Ideal for creating a botanical wall, this trip of pots could be filled with herbs, plants, or succulents, and you could have them in a row below each other.

If you love doing a spot of DIY then this idea using old guttering will bring you joy.

To recreate this idea from Amy Andrychowicz, gardening expert and author of Vertical Vegetables: Simple Projects that Deliver More Yield in Less Space, and founder of Get Busy Gardening, you only need a couple to make this work and give them a spray if you want to upgrade the color. Use metal rods as legs and place them together at various heights as a statement display in your garden.

Anything that has a double use is a winner in our book. Garden Trading's Foxmore raised planter is essentially a raised garden bed if you don't have the means to create them in your own garden – if you have a backyard for example, and it comes with a handy shelf underneath – perfect for storing your seeds, pots, and tools.

Ashley Christian, gardening expert and 5th generation homesteader living in Texas, writes about self-sufficiency on her website, Homestead Sweet Home, her advice is to use your vertical space to grow food:

‘Small raised beds or fabric planters lining the balcony will be the simplest way for you to get started growing your own food, even in the city. You can also utilize hanging containers, and railing or window box containers to maximize your space. You may want to add a living wall or aquaponics towers along the sides of your balcony to make use of every square inch.

The benefit of most of these containers is they can move with you. So if you ever move to another apartment or even a home, your beloved garden can come too. To avoid leaving any holes if you are renting, use damage-free command hooks for your hanging baskets, and free-standing living walls or planting towers.

If you use hanging baskets, you can place them directly above raised planter beds to recycle water and keep your plants from raining on your downstairs neighbor.’

Vertical gardening: Make the most of a small garden, backyard, front porch or other space using planters, trellis and more for DIY displays that are cheap and easy to create.