How to grow your own food when you have limited space available. A Wonderwall living wall kit is a fantastic space-conscious solution. Making the best use of the vertical outdoor space available, there are several edible plants you can grow and harvest at home. Plus, growing in an elevated position makes your plants much more out of reach for slugs and snails. Find out about some of the best edible plants you can grow on your Wonderwall living wall below.
How to grow your own ingredients on a living wall
There are a few small vegetables which are suited to growing in small containers. These petite powerhouses can thrive on windowsills and even on living walls. Discover your next staple ingredients for delicious recipes and fuel your body with nutritious options.
A tried and true veg is spinach. Not only extremely good for you, but it is particularly easy to grow in containers of any size. This makes it well suited to living wall growing. These vibrant, green leaves are full of valuable nutrients like iron, vitamin K, magnesium and calcium perfect for bone health. Add to cooked meals, refreshing salads and sandwiches, it is well worth the grow your own reward.
Spinach is simple to grow. From seed, sow them into fertile, peat-free compost, and make sure the soil stays consistently moist. As a cut-and-come-again crop, make sure to constantly keep harvesting throughout its growing period.
There are a variety of herbs which can become very useful ingredient too, with Ocimum (Basil) being a particularly adaptable. A fan favourite, particularly in Italian and Asian meals, it is certainly worth growing. Why not try and make some delicious homemade pesto with some homegrown basil. Or perhaps create your own tomato-based pasta sauce?
Growing from seed is a simple, or buy established basil plants from your local garden centre or even supermarket. If growing from seed, sow in batches, so you have consistent leaves to harvest throughout the summer. Water regularly, particularly in warmer weather, so check the soil regularly. Make sure to constantly harvest, picking from the top to encourage bushy growth.
How to grow your own fruits vertically
A classic and internationally popular fruit, the strawberry is a wonderful plant to grow on your Wonderwall living wall. For summer fruiting varieties, you will do well growing from existing runners or young plants. Plant them into fertile, well-drained soil in your 1-litre pots, which you can position into the living wall unit. Ensure they are watered regularly, which is no challenge with the built-in irrigation system in the Wonderwall living wall kits, and you should see the lovely jewel-coloured berries appearing in no time.
Summer-fruiting stories can last up to four years, so consider replanting them or their runners when you carry out your annual living wall clean-up.
How to grow your own botanicals and edible flowers
Edible flowers which you can enjoy on your living wall not only make for a colourful feature on baked goods, salads and more. They will also make an attractive display on your living wall as they grow.
An easy-to-grow and completely edible option available in colours ranging from orange, red and yellow to white, pink, cream and crimson, are nasturtiums. These quick-growing annuals produce masses of flowers from June to October, with their circular leaves also producing a lovely feature. If growing from seed, simply sow them between March and May, with free-draining soil, and water regularly. As the seeds are easy to handle, they are a great option for sowing and growing with children. Plus, the seeds are edible which makes it a safe activity too. As these plants are closely related to watercress, you can expect their flowers and leaves to have that familiar peppery taste. They make a lovely garnish for added seasoning on salads too.
Violas are another edible and attractive flower to grow on your living wall. They can be eaten fresh as a garnish, crystallised with sugar to decorate baked goods, or even frozen as ice cubes to decorate summer cocktails and mocktails. These can be grown from seed sown lightly, but you can also plant established plants into your 1-litre containers. From then on, they are very easy to care for with consistent watering. Available in a broad range of colours, with many being a combination of several in bicolour arrangements, from purple, blue, white, orange, red and yellow. Beautiful.
Final thoughts from David
A Wonderwall Living Wall kit provides ample space to grow and enjoy healthy foods. Whether it is for peppery garnish, a sweet snack, or even some decorative flair, there is so much potential in what you could produce when growing on a living wall.
Chartered Horticulturalist, Author, Broadcaster
David Domoney is our Brand Ambassador, a partnership which started in 2024.
David is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author, with over 40 years of professional horticulture experience. He regularly presents on ITV’s ‘Love Your Garden’, ‘Love Your Weekend’, ‘Gardening Club’, and their flagship daytime show ‘This Morning’. His bestselling book, ‘My Houseplant Changed My Life’ published by DK Books, centres on the mental and physical health benefits indoor gardening can have.
David’s blogs and videos for Wonderwall will be able to help you get the most out of a small space with their wall-planting products. Whether that’s with design and planting ideas, suggestions for where to use the product, or how to grow your own herbs and vegetables all in one convenient space.
Wonderwall’s Living Wall products are designed to make the most of vertical space, whether outdoors against a wall, shed, greenhouses, balconies or even inside your property. These Living Wall kits have been carefully designed to make caring for your wall-grown plants as simple as possible. Wonderwall allows you to enjoy a space-saving approach elevating a lifeless place into an oasis and haven for wildlife. Adding any greenery is a rewarding way to brighten any space. These walls are just as good as a hanging basket allowing things to trail and arch. Plus, they not only create a vibrant living display for spring and summer, but all year round with striking hardy perennials and evergreens.
Each planter contains a water reservoir to help keep each plant steadily watered for up to three weeks. Plus, once installed, you only need to water your Living Wall from the top row of planters; the kit is designed to filter the water down through the layers to the bottom. Any living space, whatever the size will help reduce your carbon footprint.
Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, personally selected David for his Award for Horticultural Excellence. He is also a Patron of three charities: Birmingham Botanical Gardens; the British Hedgehog Preservation Society; and the Greenfingers Charity. David is also an Ambassador of many additional charities, including SANE, RSPB, War Widows, Thrive, Melanoma Fund, Air Ambulances UK, and the Ambassador of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture. He is also a lifetime member of the Horticultural Trades Association.