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Gardening, an age-old practice, has always been about cultivating flat patches of earth.
However, with urban spaces shrinking and the need for greenery ever increasing, vertical gardening is becoming the solution. And at the heart of this rise? Chicken wire. A material once limited to poultry enclosures is now finding its way up walls, transforming spaces, and adding life to bare vertical expanses.
Let’s get into it..
When imagining a vertical garden, the plants themselves might be the first thing that comes to mind.
Yet, a significant part of its success hinges on the underlying support structure. This is where the quality and choice of chicken wire play a crucial role.
Galvanised Steel: The resilience of galvanised steel is unparalleled. By coating steel in a protective layer of zinc, it becomes resistant to rust and corrosion. This makes it ideal for vertical gardens, especially in regions with fluctuating weather. Moisture, a constant in gardens, won’t degrade this material, ensuring your green wall remains intact and thriving for years.
Green PVC: PVC-coated chicken wire offers dual benefits. Firstly, its green hue makes it discreet, allowing plants to take center stage. More importantly, PVC acts as a shield against the elements, giving your vertical garden an added layer of protection from external factors like UV rays and harsh weather.
For verticle gardens, we find that Green PVC represents the more popular choice. At the end of the day, the green colouring blends more seamlessly into the garden environment.
The size of the chicken wire holes is pivotal in determining the kind of plants it can support:
13mm: Best suited for smaller plants and mosses, offering them snug support as they grow.
This is the tightest chicken wire that we offer. As a result, it is perhaps the most popular overall and is also the heaviest of the options.
25mm: Ideal for medium-sized plants, vines, and certain flowering species. The mesh provides adequate space for tendrils to weave through and for roots to anchor.
25mm is perhaps the most commonly available chicken mesh specification. The holes are 1″, which is a very simple dimension to understand and find applications for.
50mm: This is for the more substantial flora or for gardens where more significant gaps are aesthetically appealing. Perfect for larger climbers or when you want the backdrop to be visible.
Our customers have employed chicken wire mesh for this purpose for a while now. When we get feedback on these projects, these are the main reasons for the suitability of this material:
Flexibility: Chicken wire is malleable, making it fit into any shape or design. Whether it’s a curved wall or a unique pattern, chicken wire can adapt seamlessly.
Durability: Especially when constructed from galvanised steel or coated with green PVC, chicken wire is long-lasting. This ensures that your vertical garden has a sturdy foundation for years.
Cost-Effective: Compared to other vertical gardening systems, chicken wire is economical without compromising on quality. It is far more cost-effective to produce than woven wire mesh and perforated metal.
Easy Installation: Setting up a vertical garden using chicken wire doesn’t demand professional expertise. With basic tools and a DIY spirit, one can get a green wall up in no time.
The migration towards urban living has resulted in densely packed cities with limited space for traditional greenery.
As skyscrapers continue to dominate the skyline, the demand for innovative green solutions grows, leading to the rise of vertical gardens.
Let’s briefly explore the multifaceted advantages of these vertical green oases in urban landscapes:
Air Quality Enhancement: One of the primary benefits of vertical gardens is their ability to improve air quality. Plants absorb pollutants and carbon dioxide, releasing fresh oxygen in return. In cities where vehicle emissions and industrial activities deteriorate air quality, green walls act as natural air purifiers, making breathing easier and reducing health risks.
Natural Insulation: Vertical gardens offer a buffer against external weather conditions. They keep buildings cooler in the summer by absorbing sunlight and warmer in the winter by providing an extra layer of insulation. This not only enhances the comfort level for inhabitants but also reduces energy consumption, leading to lower utility bills and a reduced carbon footprint.
Noise Reduction: Urban areas often suffer from noise pollution due to traffic, construction, and other activities. Plants in vertical gardens can absorb, reflect, and refract sound waves, leading to a notable reduction in ambient noise levels.
Biodiversity Promotion: Vertical gardens can be a haven for various species, promoting urban biodiversity. They attract birds, beneficial insects, and other small fauna, creating mini-ecosystems that help balance the urban environment.
Mental Well-being: There’s ample evidence suggesting that green spaces have a positive impact on mental health. In bustling cities, vertical gardens can be pockets of tranquility, offering visual relief and relaxation. They can reduce stress, enhance mood, and even improve concentration.
Aesthetic Appeal: Beyond their functional benefits, vertical gardens are also about beauty and art. They transform bland walls into living canvases, each telling its own story. This beautification of urban areas can also increase property values and attract tourism.
Water Conservation: Vertical gardens often incorporate efficient irrigation systems like drip irrigation, which significantly reduces water wastage. In areas prone to drought or with water restrictions, these gardens are both sustainable and beautiful.
Space Maximisation: In areas where horizontal space is at a premium, going vertical is the answer. Green walls offer an effective solution to incorporate greenery without using up valuable ground space, ensuring urban dwellers don’t miss out on the benefits of gardening.
Other metal mesh options can provide a great backing material for vertical gardens. The image below shows a solution with welded wire fencing mesh working beautifully.
As this article attests, the transformation of chicken wire from poultry fencing to a crucial component in vertical gardening is truly remarkable.
Its resilience, adaptability, and cost-effectiveness make it an ideal choice for those looking to add a touch of green to their spaces.
As we reach for the skies in our buildings, it’s only fitting that our gardens climb alongside, and chicken wire is the perfect partner for this ascent.
Give it a go, and please share the results with us. We would love to see what you create in your garden with any of our myriad mesh materials.
May your gardens always grow upwards and onwards
As always, thank you for checking out our blog. We hope that this helps you with your project. We try to launch a couple of new guides every week. Eventually we will have covered everything there is to cover about mesh.
You may be interested in our blog that explores how to build a chicken coop.
Our goal for our blogs and help guides is to answer as many questions as possible to help to explain the possibilities of mesh to our customers.
The largest range of wire mesh, chicken wire, wire fencing, woven wire mesh and perforated metal products in Europe, delivered direct from our Warrington warehouse.
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