How to Make a Living Gate

Sow Simple’s Living Wall tips

You can create a living gate in three easy steps

In this excerpt from Sow Simple: 100+ Green and Easy Projects to Make Your Garden Awesome, learn how to create your own living gate

If you love the look of vertical gardening but don’t have much room, turn your garden gate into a living wall, with sun-loving succulents on one side and moss on the other. Here’s how:

1. Grab a Gate

The basic foundation for a living gate can be a variety of existing gates, or a custom-designed framework. Rustic, wooden gates fashioned from a frame of lumber (such as the one shown, discovered on Salt Spring Island) work perfectly. Look for a funky window to add a little whimsy to your gate.

2. Hang Out

To use an existing wooden or metal gate, simply attach hanging pots and small window boxes to the flat vertical surfaces using wire, screws, clamps and L-brackets. Or, fit and attach a few planted trays designed for a living wall to your existing gate.

3. Make a Sandwich

To create the gate shown, construct two sets of a sturdy frame using reclaimed lumber cut to size. Sandwich growing medium between two layers of chicken wire, cut to fit and lined with fabric cloth. Then insert plants into cut openings.