Green walls are all the rage but if you’re not up to a Patrick Blanc style facade then our step-by-step guide will at least enable you to produce a living picture to adorn your patio or garden.

Things you’ll need:

An old or inexpensive picture frame (IKEA has good frames to use)

Timber of suitable size to make a sub-frame

Piece of plywood or hardboard to fit the frame

Mulching fabric

Chicken wire

Hard as nails glue

Pack 2.5cm long nails

Pack 2.5cm panel pins

4 screws

Pack u-shaped chicken wire pins

2 0 ring screws large enough to support frame weight

External (boat) varnish and brush

Strip of green plastic-coated garden wire doubled and twisted into a spiral

Small hammer

Drill with drill bit for wood

Wire cutters

Scissors

Saw

Plants - we used sedum and sempervivums in a range of tones and colours, buying larger plants and splitting them up

Step-by-step

1. Measure the picture frame and cut the four sides of the sub-frame to size.
2. Glue the adjoining ends, let them go tacky. Square up the sub-frame and nail each joint to make the structure stronger. Check it is square and fits the picture frame as you complete each joint.
3. Leave for a while until the glue has dried completely.
4. Cut the mulch fabric to size and pin this to the sub-frame.
5. Cut the chicken wire to size and tack this to the sub-frame, using the u-shaped pins, over the mulch fabric.
6. Turn the sub-frame over with the chicken wire/mulch fabric uppermost. Place the picture frame on top and drill a hole in the centre of each side and through into the sub-frame, making the holes slightly smaller than the screws. Then drive the screws through the picture frame into the sub-frame.
7. Turn back over, exposing the sub-frame which can now be filled with a moist compost mixture. We used three parts general potting compost and one part perlite with the addition of some bone meal. Press down to compact the mixture ensuring the sides and corners are filled.
8. Place the board over the compost mixture and fix down using panel pins.
9. Turn back over to expose the chicken wire and fabric. Drill two holes in the upper edge of the sub-frame and screw the two ring-ended screws in place. Arrange your planting alongside the frame. Cut out circles in the chicken wire and slits in the fabric and plant your chosen succulents in those spaces, firming them in. If any plants appear unsecured they can be temporarily pinned in place using pegs of plastic-coated garden wire.
10. Twist the garden wire and thread through the two rings to form a loop to suspend the frame. Put in a solid screw where you wish to hang your frame and gently put it in place.

Leave a Reply