2 unrelated questions: rock wool and plant walls

[Undergrounder]

Originally Posted by Buds!

Hey Undergrounder,
Look what I found:
Vertical Garden - Fytogreen Australia
It is avaliable in Australia! Wow!
I need to work out how to make one of these!

Yeah there are actually quite a few different vertical wall companies in Australia, but all of them use either that foam or a mesh or some other thick inert material that the roots can grow into and be protected. The French guy uses a thin felt that the roots actually grow -on- and stick to.

My brother worked on a landscape design project for a big apartment complex and looked into it, but found that the felt dried out too quickly and used too much water. He submitted a design that used a mesh/inert system for a green wall surrounding the entire entrance to the building that would use less water and work better for our climate. Only problem is that with more surface area to fill, these systems are much heavier and hold more water at any one time, meaning you have to stick them on load bearing walls and you can't just cover entire outside walls with them unless they're designed into the building.

Gardening Australia - Fact Sheet: Vertical Gardens