Living walls have become an increasingly popular way to add extra colour to a garden by brightening up a boring, blank wall. And a wall of foliage is the perfect way to make the most use of the smallest of garden spaces, or even balconies, by going upwards.
Get your garden to grow vertically, as well as horizontally in beds and pots, and you'll feel immersed in nature. Plus a living wall can also be the perfect spot to grow some herbs and salads and make your garden inspire your cooking too.
Some people might opt for a trellis and a climbing plant in a pot to create vertical visual interest, and there are numerous 'ready-made' living walls you can buy in store or on-line but be prepared to pay much more for the structure and the established plants. But if your budget is less than £50 there are still options to create a living wall.
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Tayshan Hayden-Smith from BBC's Your Garden Made Perfect has many fantastic cost-cutting ways to transform your garden. His use of guttering to create a living wall is the ideal way to add vertical interest to your garden without a large transformation budget.
Firstly, measure the space where you want to create your living wall so you know how many lengths of guttering you need to buy. Most come in two and three metre lengths, but you can cut them to the size you need.
Then buy your lengths of guttering, wall brackets and guttering stop ends (so the soil doesn't fall out) from your favourite DIY outlet. You can choose from black or white, round or square shape and prices start from £5.83 for a two metre length of guttering, £2.24 for the stopper end and £1.12 each for a wall bracket.
Back at home, it's time to get the measuring tape out again and precisely work out how much length you need for each layer of plants. Then use masking tape on the gutter to mark out where you're going to saw.
Drill some holes at regular intervals in the base of the guttering for drainage. This is important as with all the rain we get in Wales there's a real risk of losing your plants as their roots might rot in the water-logged soil.
Secure the brackets onto the wall and make sure you use enough to secure the weight of the gutter when it's full of soil - one at each won't work if the guttering is a long length. The gutter should fit neatly onto the brackets and feel secure.
Once you are happy with the structure, plant each gutter with whatever you heart desires - maybe salad plants like rocket, or herbs like mint or basil, that can help to create a mini kitchen garden.
For a more floral display, summer bedding plants will bring colour and trailing plants will create the most impact as they creep over the edge of the gutter and drape themselves down towards the floor, making your living wall look even bigger.
Tayshan also likes to use alpine plants in a gutter living wall, because they have shallow roots perfect for guttering which aren't very deep spaces.
Tayshan says: "I adore living walls simply because they make use of a space that otherwise wouldn't be utilised and it gives it a bit of height. They can turn tight and compact spaces into amazing, flourishing gardens and softens up a brick wall."
And if the budget allows, you can add a splash of colour to that brick wall too with some masonry paint, and maybe a few solar lights too. This way there'll be a bright and visually pleasing area in a once boring location, to enjoy throughout the year.
The gutter living wall can be seen in series two, episode six of Your Garden Made Perfect currently available to view on BBC iPlayer. And for more home and DIY tips, plus the best homes for sale in Wales and incredible renovation stories, join our Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter.
