The country music capital Nashville, Tennessee, offers everything singer Carrie Underwood could want in her career – but its humid subtropical climate is less ideal for growing greenery. However, in her case, this doesn't matter.
'[I] got one of these thingies from Gardyn... I'm impressed. I don't have any affiliation with the company… [I] just wanted to be able to grow some things indoors when it's cold out! [It] didn't take long for things to look like this,' Carrie says via Instagram.
The result (below) is a vertical garden wall – filled with edible greenery – that no doubt tastes as good as it looks. It's no surprise, therefore, that gadgets such as this are increasing in popularity – in all climates.
'As the cost of food increases and people look to reduce waste, there is going to be a big increase in the number of people growing their own fruit and veg at home,' says smart gardener and co-founder of POTR Pots Andrew Flynn.
'Hydroponic farming [including the Gardyn system Carrie uses] is the most sustainable way of growing food at home. It’s a vertical farming system that allows people to grow plants in small, indoor spaces using just water.'
Andrew says that vertical farming has enjoyed a surge in Japan and the Netherlands – but developers are working to create 'easy-to-use products' in the US and UK – making the growing process 'extremely simple'.
'If they manage to nail that, then we could find ourselves in a hydroponics boom by the end of 2023.'
With its similarity to the on-trend living wall, this concept is as practical as it is aesthetic – so it's easy to see why our senior content editor, Holly Crossley, mirrors Andrew's sentiments.
'A scattering of freshly-picked herbs or a sprinkle of sliced chilis is a great way to pep up mealtimes – but if you want to go a step further than a few pots on the kitchen window sill, you could consider a vertical planter – that's specifically made for growing tasty crops without taking up much space,' Holly says.
Using hydroponic farming, Holly says that home-grown tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, and more can be possible – without the need for a backyard.
'Some of these planters are complete with LED lights and even self-watering functionalities to make grow-your-own endeavors super fuss-free,' she says. 'There are some seriously stylish designs out there, too, meaning you won't need to sacrifice the aesthetics of your interior.'
And after growing your own, you can experiment with your produce via the recipes in Carrie's book (below).
Colorful, verdant and providing aesthetic and ecological benefits, living walls make use of vertical surfaces for planting. They are a particularly useful small space idea, but are worthy as an impactful design feature in their own right. The future is looking greener and greener...
