Unearthing your vertical garden

By Colleen O'Neill Nice

High-rise gardens are everywhere. Traveling in Spain last spring, I was inspired by the work of French botanist and father of the living wall, Patrick Blanc. At the CaixaForum Madrid (a modern art gallery), Blanc painted an exterior wall with 15,000 plants including more than 250 species. Sweeping brushstrokes of intense foliage colors and textures consume a canvas extending four stories high. Last spring, during a visit to Floriade, an international horticultural exhibition in the Netherlands, I photographed several examples of elevated gardens. One simple, yet engaging idea used a stockade fence to display single plant specimens mounted in pots. Although all the plants were green, the use of crisp, clear handwritten plant labels added a botanistic look to the display.

Closer to home, impressive, floor-to-ceiling green walls climb upward in the conservatory at Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia. Packed with ferns, spider plants, grape ivy, philodendron and moss, the fourteen foot walls feature ethereal textures and shapes. Situated in the Atlanta Botanical Garden, an herb wall complements an outdoor kitchen where the city’s noted chefs provide cooking classes during the summer. At Chanticleer, a pleasure garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania, rusty chains spilling with succulents hang in the “ruin garden”. According to Fran DiMarco, administrative assistant at Chanticleer, “We salvaged this hardware from a church being demolished on North Broad Street in Philadelphia, 17 or 18 years ago. It actually predates the ruin garden which was constructed in 2000. The chain and cups were on a continuous loop bringing coal from the coal bins to feed the church furnace.” So gather inspiration from near or far to design your own vertical garden. Probe nurseries and online sources for uncommon vegetation. Use found items or engineered components. Have fun!

Start simple. Many retailers like Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma and Lowes offer vertical gardening configurations. The galvanized, stacked pockets at Pottery Barn are great for stashing succulents.  Try mounting two planters side-by-side for an easy-to-harvest herb garden. Each planter features ten pockets with plenty of room for all your culinary greenery. Williams-Sonoma stocks copper and reclaimed wood vertical wall planters; indoor/outdoor free standing vertical gardens; and an easy-to-label chalkboard wall planter surrounding ten planting cells. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, check out the garden projects at Lowes. The fence gutter garden, PVC-ring fence trellis or the PVC sleeve planters are creative ways to grow vertical. And if you have not tried the topsy turvy tomato, this hanging marvel is a real space saver. Plow & Hearth sells their version of the upside down tomato with three ports for herbs, so you can grow the perfect pairing – tomatos and basil, if you so desire.

Buy local. Masterson’s Nursery in East Aurora has the perfect answer for greening up a small patio or deck. The Gronomics Vertical Garden is handcrafted in the USA of western red cedar with a small footprint, just two square feet. It includes a drip irrigation system and boasts 17 feet of linear growing space with no assembly required. Quick, easy and instant green! Patti Jablonski-Dopkin, general manager at Urban Roots Community Garden Center in Buffalo suggests, “the Woolly Pocket recycled felt planters or the hard plastic living wall planter.” The new modular design features a vented, hard shell which allows excessive moisture to escape and a self watering tank that lasts up to two weeks, depending on the plants and environment. Made in the USA of recycled plastic, it is available in several colors. Zehrs on the Lake Farm Market & Nursery sells Kinsmen products including hayrack planters, an alternative to traditional window boxes. The hayracks are a classic European design and include a coco-fiber liner. Owner Mark Van Buren and family are magicians with plant combinations and can help you design the perfect hayracks to compliment your home and garden. Go vertical with trees. At Wayside Garden Center in Macedon they grow columnar pear and peach trees, as well as dwarf apple trees – perfect to train on an espalier. They also sell hanging moss globes, living wreath forms and hanging planting bags – great for growing potatoes, strawberries or flowering plants. At Sarah’s Garden Center in Brockport, unique decorative trellises come in all shapes and sizes. Add a clematis or variegated morning glory and let the climbing begin. A prettified antique birdcage overflows with a plethora of plants. Hang it from a tree or shepard’s hook for on-the-spot verticality. At Sarah’s you can find tall, linear urns, tree-form trumpet vines and hanging ‘tumbling tom’ tomatoes. 

Just recycle. Take an old croc, line it with sphagnum moss and fill it with a soilless mix. And add a favorite plant or two, then hang it from the heel strap. Creative and easy, this vertical shoe-in will keep draping pineapple or chocolate mint from invading your garden beds. Use bright colors to spray paint your old tomato cages. Flip the cages over and secure the bottom ring to the ground with garden staples. Pull the legs together and add a decorative finial. Gardener’s Supply Company sells an adorable honey bee garden finial set with a terra cotta beehive and six honeybees. They also stock inexpensive garden cane connectors in sets of six to create garden tepees from bamboo stakes. The silicone and rubber connectors hold up to six bamboo canes and are reusable. So create a few obelisks to grow cucumbers, peas, squash or miniature pumpkins for a vertical space-saving vegetable garden. Gardeners Supply Company is 100% employee owned by gardeners. View their online catalog at www.gardeners.com.

Illuminating experiences from my travels bring it all home. My own vertical garden started a few years ago when I needed to soften a brick wall adjacent to my back porch. The first year I staggered three Kinsman wall baskets attaching them with brick clips. Lee Valley offers three sizes of clips to fit the height of your brick (www.leevalley.com). Baskets can then be removed easily for filling and repositioning. My living wall added an interesting backdrop for my outdoor dining space with activity from dragonflies and hummingbirds. After the summer annuals faded, I filled the baskets with fall seedheads from my garden including astilbe, quaking oat grass and pardancanda. I used panicles from hydrangeas and sedum to add additional color for the fall. In early winter, I tucked in small red bows and evergreen cuttings from my Christmas tree. Once spring arrived, I removed the dried arrangements, added fresh soil and planted cheerful, fragrant pansies and sweet alyssum. For the first time in ten years my pansies were not decapitated. Thankfully, the rabbits in my neighborhood don’t own stilts yet.

Last year, I expanded my vertical garden with four more Kinsman wall planters.To create cohesion within the display, I used a mélange of ferns as my primary plant. The textures were glorious. The climbing maidenhair ferns (Lygodium microphyllum) cascaded down and climbed throughout the planters. The Japanese painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’) sparkled in soft shades of purple, grey and silver green. Begonias, caladium, coleus, fuschia, ivy, New Guinea impatiens, plectranthus,   and sweet potato vines joined the party. Birds wedged nests between the foliage, while the bees enjoyed the flowers.

Plants, plants, plants. When selecting plants to use in full sun, drought tolerant sedums and succulents mean minimal watering and low maintenance. For vertical gardens with drip irrigation or self watering tanks, try edibles like strawberries or leaf lettuce. Vegetables specifically designed for growing in pots are vertically friendly. Renee’s Garden features an impressive list of gourmet vegetable seeds suitable for container gardens (www.reneesgarden.com). Herbs can be grouped together for easy access from the kitchen. Be sure to include oregano, thyme and mint which provide a draping disposition. Create a tropical living wall with orchids, hoyas, ivies, calla lilies and bromeliads. Use sun loving annuals. Mix in cascading plants like trailing geranium, lantana, cascading petunia, calibrachoa, dichondra and verbena. Include mounding plants like annual grasses, salvia, gazania and angelonia. Add fragrance with heliotrope, stock, sweet alyssum, four o’clocks and sweet peas.

For a vertical shade garden, experiment with foliage favorites like dwarf caladium, needlepoint ivy, coleus, perilla, hypoestes, sweet potato vine and plectranthus. Add floridity with fuschia, new guinea impatiens, begonia, torenia, browallia and viola. Mix in divisions from your perennial garden including miniature hosta, ajuga, lamium, hardy geraniums and liriope. Many perennials like astilbe, columbine, corydalis, hellebores, heuchera, lady’s mantle, pulmonaria, and violets reseed, so use the babies to fill in. Add ferns like the deer, maidenhair, dre’s dagger or American wall fern for texture. Split your tropical ferns like the Lemon Button or boston fern and mix with hardy, perennial ferns. Remember to group plants together that require similar cultural conditions by considering exposure, water and fertilizing needs.

Vertical gardens take advantage of limited ground space while invigorating plentiful vertical space. Make use of elevation to deter rabbits that nibble on your strawberries or devour your blossoms. Create additional habitats for birds and insects. Smartly position plants near front entrances or on balconies to clean air of pollutants and offset your carbon footprint. Improve air quality both indoors and out, garnering positive health benefits. Create a shield with plants that helps insulate buildings from noise, heat and air pollution. Use tepees, arbors and pergolas to create microclimates. Shade loving plants will thrive under the structure, while the sun lovers clamber over.

Vertical gardens are ideal for growing food in urban settings or on patios. They are more productive than horizontal gardens and practically weed free. Uniquely designed planters allow the garden to be brought up to the gardener, especially for those with bad knees and backs or anyone with limited bending abilities. Vertical gardens bring relaxation and peace, adding a living art form to your garden. Structures like pergolas, obelisks and arches create garden rooms, adding height and depth. Privacy screens of greenery disguise unwanted views of compost areas, sheds and air conditioners. Window boxes and hanging baskets add character, variety, structure and color, thus increasing curb appeal.

But most importantly, vertical gardens expand your garden space, giving you the opportunity to nurture even more plants. So if you are running out of real estate, consider creating a vertical green space and use inspiration from your travels to make it your own.

Printed in the Upstate Gardeners’ Journal, March-April 2015

Article and photos by Colleen O’Neill Nice

This year the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) is over a half century old. It continues its mission of preserving seeds and sharing the fascinating stories of the immigrants who grew them. SSE is the largest non governmental seed bank in the country striving to keep seeds safe and viable while promoting diversity. 

The Seed Bank contains over 20,000 unique varieties at their headquarters in Decorah, Iowa. The nonprofit’s 2026 on-line catalog ( https://seedsavers.org ) features vegetable, flower and herb seeds.

SSE also facilitates a totally online seed swap called the Exchange (http://exchange.seedsavers.org). Here gardeners (listers) from all over the country offer open-pollinated, non-hybrid seeds from their own gardens. In addition, SSE contributes more than 4,000 varieties from their own Seed Bank to the Exchange.

The seeds at the Exchange (also apple scions, potatoes, sunchokes, vegetative alliums and grape cuttings) can be accessed by simply setting up an account with your email and a password. Once logged in, you can explore six categories. Take time to browse 14,079 vegetables; 362 flowers; 358 fruits, berries and nuts; 59 grains; 115 herbs and spices; and a miscellaneous category with 43 listings.

All listings describe the plant, what state it is grown in, USDA hardiness zone, contact and payment information for the lister and even some photos. Today 316 listers on the Exchange share unique seeds to preserve diversity. Some gardeners are new to the Exchange while others have been offering seeds for 40 years.

At the Exchange, you order directly from the lister of the seeds. Once you put in your request and receive the seeds, you grow the plants in your garden. The seeds you save can be shared with family, friends and neighbors to further expand distribution to multiple locations. Seeds eventually become regionally adaptive while creating more resilient communities. If you choose, you can then offer your seeds on the Exchange the following year and continue the tradition to increase the number of sources for that particular seed.

According to SSE, “participants in the Exchange have saved thousands of rare heirlooms from extinction by connecting with new seed stewards to carry on seed saving traditions to the next generation. This grassroots seed-saving community is saving and sharing America’s gardening heritage for future generations. The more people that participate, the stronger it will be.”

Detailed information about buying and selling on the Exchange is explained on the website and is worth reading. You can also watch the “how to” video. Who knows, maybe you will discover a seed that connects you to your ancestral heritage. Then you can continue the tradition of growing it for your children and grandchildren to enjoy. 

So if you choose to share your seeds with gardeners on-line or just purchase a few packets of unique seeds for your own garden, the Exchange is a seed lovers dream.

So many seeds, so little time!

Indigenous Seed Keepers

https://www.allianceofnativeseedkeepers.com

Bertie County Seeds had a humble beginning in 2018, starting out in an apartment in Richmond, Virginia. Beth Roach and Frank “Fix” Cain, both Native American farmers, have been planting seeds for sometime. Roach is Vice Chair of the Nottoway Indian tribe of Virginia’s Tribal Council and Co-Founder of the Alliance of Native Seedkeepers. Cain has been actively working on developing a seed bank. The alliance, formed by two Monacans, a Nottoway and a Tuscarora, is dedicated to the mission of restoring ancestral seed varieties and creating seed farming jobs within tribal nations. Their seed sanctuary holds ancestral seeds from their own and other Native communities. These seeds are not for sale. The Native American farmers believe that familial seeds should first be widely available within their communities of origin before being accessible to anyone else. Committed to working with fellow Indigenous communities, the couple set up shop on the ancestral lands of the Tuscarora in Colerain, North Carolina. The store serves as a hub for e-commerce, education, community-building and sustainability. The 2026-2027 season will be their 7th year in operation. As Native seedkeepers, they are dedicated to helping communities rediscover and reclaim their culinary traditions that have nourished people for generations. They believe everyone should have access to high quality seeds while ensuring their prices remain fair and accessible (generous seed packets are $2). Peruse their on-line store offering 438 veggie, 57 herb and 69 flower seeds. As part of their mission to promote sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty, they donate thousands of seed packets each year to both tribal and non-tribal communities.

https://www.followthegoldenpath.org

The Path is a nonprofit organization in Estancia, New Mexico, whose mission is focused on seed preservation and distribution. Through education, Grandmother Flordemayo gets people to think about “where their food comes from.” According to Lee-Ann Hill, lead seed keeper at The Path, “simply put, we need to preserve the seeds, as they are a living library. Seeds that have been adapted for the different soils and climate of an area, with all their qualities and characteristics, are the results of generations of meticulous care and dedication. If we keep these seeds alive, we are keeping our heritage alive.” The Path offers free seeds to anyone interested in helping grow corn, beans, squash or grains.

Seed Libraries

Many seed libraries have sprouted up over the years in local public libraries across Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. They distribute free seed packets to library patrons including flower, vegetable and herb, some even offering fruit seeds. Most libraries in the list below limit the number of seed packets to 4 per person, while others allow 5, 6 or 10 packets. A few libraries have no limit. Several of the libraries restock their seeds in March or April, while others have seeds available all year long. For continued success of all the seed libraries, patrons are encouraged to donate seeds back to the library throughout the season when they harvest seeds from their own garden. Be sure to check your library’s website for current information about availability. Many libraries post information on their Facebook and/or Instagram pages as well. This year, make it your goal to give back twice as many seeds as you “borrow.” 

Buffalo, New York

Audubon Public Library

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/audubon-branch

Vegetable, herb and flower seeds are available all year long. 

Boston Free Library

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/boston-free-library

Seeds are available all year long. It is first come, first serve.

Buffalo and Erie County Public Library Central/Downtown

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/central-downtown-buffalo

Patrons can borrow up to four packets of vegetable, fruit, herb and flower seeds per year.

Clarence Public Library 

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/clarence-public-library

Patrons may borrow up to four packets of vegetable, herb and flower seeds per year.

The Garden Friends of Clarence helps sort and prepare the seeds for distribution all year long.r

Concord Public Library

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/concord-public-library

Patrons may borrow up to five seed packets per person. Vegetable, herb and flower seeds are available all year long.

Elma Public Library

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/elma-public-library

Patrons may borrow up to ten free seeds packets. 

It is first come, first serve.

Hamburg Public Library

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/hamburg-public-library

Hamburg Library Seed Share is located in the “Little Library” outdoor box. It is first come, first serve. 

Lancaster Public Library 

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/lancaster-public-library

Patrons may borrow up to four seed packets per growing season.

Orchard Park Public Library

https://www.buffalolib.org/locations-hours/orchard-park-public-library

The Seed Libraries are located inside the library in the ‘Book Nook’ and outside in the “Little Library” outdoor box. Volunteers appropriately named ‘the Seedlings’ prepare seed packets for March/April distribution.

Rochester, New York

Chili Public Library

https://www.chililibrary.org

Seeds are available all year long with no limit.

According to Library Director, Jennifer Lowden “In 2025, 1,849 seed packets were borrowed 

while the library experienced an increase in seed donations back.” The Lion’s Club of Chili is a generous supporter of their Seed Library.

Gates Public Library

https://gateslibrary.org

Seeds are available all year long and usually replenished in the spring. The Seed Library is upstairs next to elevator doors.

Hamlin Public Library

https://hamlinlibraryny.org/services/

Patrons may borrow up to five seed packets.

Seeds are available all year long.

Henrietta Public Library

https://www.hpl.org

Patrons may borrow up to 6 pre-filled seed packets. The Seed Library is located on the second floor at the beginning of the Adult Nonfiction section. The library has partnered with the Henrietta Garden Club.

Irondequoit Public Library

https://irondequoitlibrary.org

Patrons may borrow up to five seed packets.

Vegetable, herb and flower seeds are available starting in March.

Ogden Public Library (Spencerport, NY)

https://www.ogdenfarmerslibrary.org/seed-library.html

Patrons may borrow  up to five seed packets.

Seeds are available all year long with a ‘relaunch’ in March.

Parma Public Library (Hilton, NY)

https://www.parmapubliclibrary.org

There is no limit to the number of seed packets per patron. The Seed Library is located in the center reading lounge.

Scottsville Free Library

https://scottsvillelibrary.org

There is no limit to the number of seed packets per patron. The Seed Library is located in main area of library.

Webster Public Library

https://websterlibrary.org

There is no limit to the number of seed packets per patron. The Seed Library is located near the “Returns” desk.

Syracuse

Petit Branch Library

https://www.onlib.org/locations/city-libraries/petit-branch-library

Patrons may borrow up to five seed packets.

Request the seed box at the “Reference Desk”.

Flower, vegetable, herbs and native plant seeds are available.

Baldwinsville Public Library

https://www.onlib.org/locations/suburban-libraries/baldwinsville-public-library

Patrons may borrow up to three seed packets.

The Seed Library is near the “Circulation” desk.

Manlius Library

https://manliuslibrary.org

There is no limit to the number of seed packets per patron. The Seed Library is located near the “New Books” shelves.

National Seed Vault

https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/fort-collins-co/center-for-agricultural-resources-research

The National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP) in Fort Collins, Colorado serves as a primary backup for American agriculture. It stores millions of seeds, animal genetics and microbes to protect against disasters and support ongoing research. It was established by the US Department of agriculture (USDA) in the 1950s. Bar-coded white pouches fill ceiling high shelves in endless rows. It is estimated that billions of seeds fill 600,00 seed packets.

International Seed Vault

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located deep inside a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. Its primary mission is to secure the world’s crop diversity by providing long term storage for duplicate seeds. The facility has the capacity to store 4.5 million different varieties of crops. As of June 2025, nearly every country globally safeguards over 1.3 million seed samples. A virtual tour of the Seed Vault is available on their website so unauthorized personnel (gardeners) can get a glimpse of the most important room in the world!

Printed in the Upstate Gardeners’ Journal, March-April 2026