Make Your Garden Grow Up

 Everywhere you turn, beautiful plants are there. Beautiful and full of life. You can't help but want to get in on that little bit of personal scenery. The problem is, you don't have the room, can't dig, only have a balcony, etc. Guess what?  Tell yourself this next phrase: I CAN have a garden to be proud of.

A great way to start is a vertical garden. Haven't heard of them? They are wonderful. Instead of trying to grow out, you just make them grow up.

Wall Garden

                                                                                                                                                                        

Vertical Gardens are perfect for beginners.

  The right planter, soil, flowers, and water will give you

 a beautiful space to enjoy.  Now, if you are looking at that picture above and thinking, "How?", but the answer is simple. 2 words, wall planters. They attach right to your vertical surface, you fill with your choice of flower and a good soil. Don't stick to just flowers though, mix it up with herbs and vines for a mix of color and greenery. It really is as simple as it looks. You can redesign an entire space in one afternoon with ease.

VertiGarden Full of Life

Empty VertiGarden

Have you seen mailbox posts or porch pillars full of life? Yes, you can do that as well. Garden-Aire HugIt helps you with a tight fighting smart strap that hugs it right to any pole, tree, or post. It also has a 3 gallon capacity, so you grow flowers, herbs, and foliage.

What if you want a full wall of flowers and vines? Besides the Wall Garden that we showed above, we have a number of pocket planter systems that are easy to attach together and to your wall. WallPots are all new to the living wall scene. Lightweight yet durable, they make a great start to any living wall.

Wait a minute? You wish you could have a living wall inside? Our friends at Woolly Pocket have made a pocket planter out of recycled bottles. It is leak proof and perfect for indoors with a great airflow system that not only allows the air to circulate, but keeps the moisture inside your planter, not leaking water out of it or drowning your plants. Woolly Pocket comes with the options of 1,3, or 5 pockets to make your project a snap.

All of these vertical gardens look beautiful and might even look hard to do, but truly all they consist of is quality wall planters, good soil, beautiful flowers, and water put into a pocket. You can do that! It doesn't get much simpler! Let your imagination soar! Visit us at www.verticalgardeningsystems.com to get started. Everything you need to do the things shown here are available there and so much more.

Sage~ "The Healthiest Herb"

Sage is known as the herb of the wise. It's name is derived from the Latin Salvare which roughly translates as "to rescue" or "to heal". Traditionally is it believed that those who ate Sage became immortal in wisdom and life. In modern times, we still recognize how wonderful Sage is and although it won't make us live forever, it will improve the life we have been given. Leaves are used fresh or dried to flavor wonderful food dishes as well as work against bacterias that cause digestive issues, food poisoning, and more.

Sage is a very hardy plant that is able to withstand harsher climates with the proper care. Sage is a clumping herb that thrives with full sun and moderate watering without an overly moist soil. It makes the perfect container plant, alone or as greenery to flowers. As soon as the leaves have grown large enough to serve your needs, you can start harvesting them. Sage is also rated as one of the world's healthiest foods and is not a commonly allergic food.

Sage is a great anti-oxidant, anti-septic, and anti-inflammatory, as well as so many other things. It has been used in a tea or oil form as a remedy for respiratory infections, congestion, cough, and sore throat, packing a big punch in a little plant for cold season.  needs. Sage is also used externally to treat sprains, bleeding, and swelling. It works wonders as a muscle relaxer because of the anti-spasmodic properties that reduces tension in smooth muscles. It is thanks to this property that it is also a great alternative to use for dizziness, nervousness, and excitability.

Sage is also used to treat or help in these common ailments:

• Clean ulcers or sores
• Kidney troubles
• Hemorrhage from lungs or stomach
• Joint pain
• Night sweats
• Nervous headache
• Lack of appetite
• Mouthwash
• Liver complaints
• Insect stings and bites
• Excessive, scanty, or irregular periods
• Hot flashes
• Oral inflammation
• Improvement in memory

*Sage should not be used internally by pregnant or nursing woman for more than just food seasoning. Medicinal doses can cause a reduction of breast milk in nursing mothers. In pregnant women, it can cause uterine spasms. To add flavor to your dish should not cause these side effects.*

Since Sage is such a simple to grow herb and so very useful, I like to keep plenty around. I am not a fan of digging big gardens myself for herbs. I like to have them at a level that makes picking simple. I absolutely love wall planters. A beautiful living wall of plants and herbs brings such peace. My favorites include Grovert framed wall planters. If you have good lighting, you can have an herb garden right in your kitchen because it is designed to protect your walls.

Another wonderful option is Wallpots. 3 deep pockets encourage deep rooting and can be hung on any outdoor vertical surface. Use just 1 or group together for your own unique garden. Maybe you don't want to create a living wall because you're renting or trying to sell. A Nancy Jane Stacking Planter boasts of 9 planting cells that are self watering. You can grow a mixture of plants, herbs, and vegetables while using very little space.

Check out these planters and so many more to create your own unique vertical garden at 
www.VerticalGardeningSystems.com

Are You Growing A Cold Weather Garden?

It is nearing Fall. 
That means crisp, cool weather, beautiful trees as they change colors, coffee on the back porch.
 *Sigh* 
I Love Fall.

Here is my dilemma, Winter follows directly after Fall. The pretty colors all seem to fade away to leave a sometimes bleak and dreary scenery. It is often reported that people experience the "Winter Blues", which is caused by those shorter days and the colorless scenery. 

We just so happen to have a solution that may help. Have you ever heard of Vertical Gardens? It is a novel idea that is sweeping the world. When you are short on space, lacking yard to plant a garden, or just want to beautify your outdoor area or a wall in your home, a vertical garden becomes the perfect choice. Now, I bet you are ready for me to tell you how a garden will help with the Winter Blues. Simmer down! I will tell you! Use the vertical garden system to choose which plants you like and create your own little living garden right on a wall, fence, or balcony. I have scoured the web and found so many beautiful cold weather flowers!!! The *POP* of color and life can brighten your mood. Live plants drastically improve our quality of living.

 *A LITTLE TRIVIA*

Did you know that indoor gardens with live plants drastically improve our quality of living? The average person spends approximately 90% of their time indoors, so make that space as healthy as possible. Live indoor vertical gardens and plants improve indoor air quality, which can often times be more polluted than outdoor air quality. Indoor plants and gardens have been shown to improve productivity and performance while lowering stress and negative feelings. They even create natural noise reduction. Indoor vertical gardening is about so much more than beautifying your space. It is about beautifying your life because life was meant to be lived beautifully. 

I am going to share a few of my favorite cold weather flowers with you. These are a few "less known" winter flowers. Popular flowers include the Pansy, Snapdragon, and Violas, but I wanted to share some you many not know much about. I have made all of the following plant names clickable so you can learn even more about them from the websites that helped me learn about them.  
Cyclamen are very hardy during cold weather. Its delicate white, pink, or red flowers are often said to resemble shooting stars or butterflies. Great for full or even partial sun and normal regular watering. They are considered a favorite as a container grown flower, so planting in your vertical garden is just perfect.

Cyclamen

 Hellebores are considered by many as an "idiot proof" flower. I personally need this type so I can plant them, water, and forget.. They are not a one season flower either. Hellebores are great for Winter and Spring. Requiring very little maintenance, this is a perfect beginner flower.

Hellebores

 Now, for my favorite flower, Poppies! I adore them. You will mostly find them in red, but I have also seen blue, white, and pink Poppies. They grow tall and majestic. In Iceland, you can find fields of them growing sometimes 1 to 2 feet tall. With their simple beauty, Poppies have been known to symbolize peace and hope. For a unique flower in your garden, Poppies will fit the bill.

Poppy

There are a few ideas to get you started. The beauty and color of each flower is sure to bring a smile to your face and peace into your heart, but I bet you are wondering, "Well, yeah, but how to I bring my walls to life?" Luckily, we offer everything you need to get you started at our website, www.verticalgardeningsystems.com. We offer Indoor AND Outdoor options!

Our indoor favorites include Woolly Pockets. They are perfect for indoor use because they do not leak, yet they will still nurture your plants.

A beautiful arrangement in the Woolly Pocket

Popular favorites for outdoor living walls include FloVert 

FloVert

and the aptly named WallPots.

WallPots

These 3 options, along with many, many more are available at www.verticalgardeningsystems.com. Get started now and enjoy all the way through Winter!