The ticket to the future of gardening, and lessening air pollution in cities around the globe, might be found in vertical gardening. A prominent feature presented at the Outside Lands music festival held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park until August 12, for example, brings home the importance of discovering eco-friendly ways to make the most of space available when land is so precious but not so plentiful. Also, the inventor of "The Magic School Bus" is working with Netflix show.

Cities worldwide have been designing and implementing the growth of vertical gardens.

This article focuses on gardens and benefits in four cities: San Francisco, Mexico City, Punjab, and Singapore. Outside Lands is a music festival happening in San Francisco, California, until Sunday, August 12. While performing artists such as Janet Jackson and the Weeknd were invited to showcase their talents, another guest taking center stage is vertical gardening, produced by Plenty, headquartered in the City by the Bay.

Fuel consumption cut by local produce delivery

Plenty is a local company with a global goal, aimed at creating sustainable gardens in limited space. Within the boundaries of vertical gardening, Plenty grows produce, such as kale and arugula. With $200 million in funding, the eco-friendly business plans delivering its locally grown products to its San Francisco area customers, according to Live Kindly.

The upside is a plus, on the side of the environment, since transportation from grower to the customer-base is not dependent on fuel products to meet its goals. In addition to San Francisco, Plenty will broaden its customer reach after the Outside Lands festival by setting up delivery from the company’s farm in Kent, Washington.

Vertical gardens gained ground in Mexico City, Mexico

As Mexico City flourished, the urban sprawl elevated traffic and air pollution. VerdMX, a non-profit group, was chiefly responsible for installing and caring for Via Verde.

The initiative launched in 2012 with the goal to create 1,000 vertical gardens, Mashable and Food & Wine reported. This is despite the GAO claiming that DHS hasn't fully considered the costs of the border wall between the US and Mexico.

The project is notable for its use of pre-existing material for reaching the project’s goal. The gardens use pillars, along with highway stretches, for creating hydroponic pockets. The plants adorn the pockets. As the plants take root and grow onto the pillars, air pollution is reduced. The planting system, which has remote monitoring, also takes advantage of rainwater for the plants’ continual growth.

Along with the air pollution that vehicle traffic causes, other effects on the environment that vertical gardens can help reduce include noise pollution and higher temperatures.

The garden plants absorb and lower the decibels, as well as help regulate the temperature since the plants function as an air filter.

Punjab, India, on-track with its railway garden

The Ludhiana Railway Station in Punjab, India, is home to the country’s first-of-a-kind vertical garden. Rohit Mehra, an official with the Internal Revenue Service, put single-use plastic bottles to use in creating a vertical garden in his office at the railway station. He has single-handedly spared the planet from having an estimated 18,000 plastic bottles added to existing count.

The idea for the in-office garden found its roots at Mehra’s home. He began upcycling plastic bottles rather than buy costly plastic containers for saplings – as he noticed other people doing for gardens on their terraces.

A project that started as a home garden, has since expanded even beyond his office. The IRS official also lends his eye and know-how to creating vertical gardens for hotels.

Stunning vertical gardens in Singapore multi-use

Of all the vertical gardens mentioned in this article, the most breath-taking gardens are located in Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. The vertical gardens are aesthetically pleasing, plus multi-use and nested within a 250-acre nature park.

The aim of the garden, created in 2012, entails more than having an outdoor venue, which definitely draws locals and site-seers who experience the light show among presented by the artificial tree structures. The government’s goal is to transform the city. Singapore is transitioning to a city existing in a garden.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED