Free of any soil, mulch and organic composted material Patrick Blanc’s vertical gardens are certainly eye-catching to say the least. Skyscrapers, shopping malls, carparks, museums and building facades are all being decorated with plants as part of Blanc’s botany research.

Consisting of only a metal frame, a PVC layer and some felt plants are held in a vertical growing position with the roots attaching themselves to the felt. This felt layer also becomes the distribution layer for the water and nutrients providing the essentials directly to the plants.

Even though it appears to be an engineering success Blanc reports that the weight of the system is only 30kg per square metre making it possible for any wall to carry the load.