Extending 33 metres high and 5 metres wide on the northern façade of Trio North, this living artwork will be the tallest of its kind in Australia and only the second such project by Patrick Blanc in Australia. 4500 individual plants will be planted, chosen from over 70 species. Patrick Blanc has been working with Frasers for several months to develop the concept for this vertical artwork, and has been planting the artwork (not a phrase often used) from mid-July.

The living artwork will be unveiled in mid-August as the scaffold currently concealing it is removed. Be warned - it won't look very impressive for the first few months, but once the 4500 seedlings are established it'll be bloomin' wonderful.

Patrick Blanc visited Sydney between 30 November and 2 December, meeting with the media and speaking to the City of Sydney's Business Forum at Customs House.

Followers of global innovations in art and landscape will know Patrick Blanc’s work well; for details visit www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com

le mur vegetal in detail

Here’s Patrick Blanc describing his work to Japanese arts and culture e-zine, PingMag, in 2008:

“The Vertical Garden, as it is known in English, is something closer to a living painting than to a garden. Actually I named it le mur vegetal, meaning vegetal wall. I’m a scientist, a botanist and the Vertical Garden is derived from many observations I made in natural places mostly in tropical areas for more than 30 years now… My scientific approach is essential for designing the whole system and for selecting the plant species suitable for each peculiar location."

On the detail of this unique, and patented, construction:

“The Vertical Garden is composed of three parts: a metal frame, a PVC layer and felt. The metal frame is hung on a wall or can be self-standing. It provides an air layer acting as a very efficient thermic and phonic isolation system. A 1cm thick PVC sheet is then riveted on the metal frame. This layer brings rigidity to the whole structure and makes it waterproof. After that comes a felt layer made of polyamide that is stapled on the PVC. This felt is corrosion-resistant and its high capillarity allows a homogeneous water distribution. The roots are now growing on this felt.

“Watering is provided from the top with the tap water being supplemented with nutrients. The process of watering and fertilisation is automated. The whole weight of the ‘Vertical Garden’, including plants and metal frame, is lower than 30 kg per square meter. Thus the Vertical Garden can be implemented on any wall without any size or limitation of height.”