Vertical Gardening: Green Ideas for Small Gardens, Balconies and Patios

With low-cost and sustainable DIY projects, this practical guide helps gardeners to make use of small spaces by growing upwards.

Vertical gardening offers great opportunities to grow flowers, vegetables, succulents and herbs, particularly for those with a balcony, patio or compact garden. It can also be a fantastic way to showcase creative and sustainable design choices, whether you’ve got wood, terracotta pots, burlap sacks, fabric or even plastic bottles.

From privacy screens to foldable storage, this helpful guide includes step-by-step DIY projects, plant care tips and tricks, and practical information on the special challenges that come with planting in a compact garden, including advice on pests, drainage and plants suited for gardens with limited light.

Beautifully illustrated throughout with aspirational photography and useful diagrams, Vertical Gardening celebrates the versatility of growing up in a small or awkward space.

Martin Staffler is a writer and wildlife photographer and qualified landscape gardener. In 2014, he was a finalist in the European garden photography awards. Today he lives in Stuttgart with his family, where he works as a freelance photographer and garden journalist, and an editor of German gardening magazine Gartenpraxis.