Vertical gardens, also known as green walls, are increasingly integrated into architectural designs for their aesthetic and environmental benefits, as demonstrated by projects like Singapore's green building initiatives that reduce the heat island effect and improve air quality through pollutant absorption.

Indoor vertical gardens are highly effective at purifying air, reducing harmful pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter by up to 40% and 60%, respectively, while also addressing indoor air pollution challenges with systems like those tested by the University of Technology Sydney.

These installations also contribute to temperature regulation, with studies showing reductions in wall temperatures by up to 5°C, which enhances energy efficiency and reduces the need for air conditioning in urban environments.

Beyond physical benefits, vertical gardens positively impact mental health, as research from the University of Tokyo indicates that exposure to greenery can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety while improving self-esteem and life satisfaction.

Plant selection for vertical gardens must consider climate conditions, with drought-tolerant species like succulents suited for arid regions and moisture-loving plants such as astilba thriving in humid environments.

Maintenance requirements include ensuring adequate light exposure, proper watering techniques, and pest control, with innovative solutions like IoT-enabled irrigation systems enhancing efficiency and extending plant lifespans.

Architectural examples like the Trudo Vertical Forest in the Netherlands showcase the multifunctional benefits of vertical gardens, including carbon dioxide absorption, biodiversity support, and aesthetic enhancement.

Collaborations between architects and horticulturists can optimize plant selection and design strategies, ensuring the resilience and sustainability of vertical gardens in diverse environments.

Vertical gardens, also known as green walls, are increasingly integrated into architectural designs for their aesthetic and environmental benefits, as demonstrated by projects like Singapore's green building initiatives that reduce the heat island effect and improve air quality through pollutant absorption.

Title:

Content: Alert
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Singapore Building Zero Energy Green Building Breathing
Singapore Net Zero Carbon 2
In the morning, the sun shines through the gaps in the leaves on the waterwalk in Punggol New Town, Singapore. The morning runners are accompanied by the murmur of water and the sound of insects. The urban jungle concrete buildings in green clothes are also breathing, and the natural face of City in Nature is collaged.
This is Singapore, the southernmost point of the Malay Peninsula, with a reputation as an urban garden. More than 50 years of transformation, it has not only become a city in the garden, which has impressed the international community, but is now moving towards a city that is integrated with nature and breathes together. The key is green architecture that makes Singaporeans proud.
In October 2022, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Huang Xuancai announced a long-term low-carbon development strategy, Singapore's new emission reduction target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest, the government played a leading role in leading the emission reduction action, hoping to meet the target by 2045.
The promotion of green buildings in Singapore is certainly related to the world trend of net zero carbon emissions, and the more important reason is based on sustainable development, but this small urban country, natural resources are scarce, energy depends on imports, to achieve net zero carbon emissions goals, enterprises and individuals have to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Regarding Singapore ’ s promotion of green buildings, Chien Szu-Cheng, an associate professor at the Singapore Polytechnic University (SIT), said that the early impression of Singapore was that it was a garden city in the city, and then transformed into a city in the garden, and now with global climate change, Singapore is striving to become a city in nature (“natural city ”).
Environmental protection and greening have become the basic skills of green building in Singapore, with 80% of the population living in HDB living as if living with nature. Among them, the Waterway Terraces is undoubtedly one of the best examples of green building in Singapore, and won the Singapore Good Design Mark Special Merit Award in 2017.
● Energy saving design of green elements in government buildings
Vincent Tan, who enjoyed breakfast at the restaurant on the first floor, was pleased with the large collection of green elements at Punggol Waterfront Terrace.
He said that Singapore is located in the tropics, perfect ventilation and shade design are the most important design elements, and the Punggol house facing the waterfront is in line with this energy-saving design, which greatly reduces the use of air conditioning.
For the first ecological compartments built by the waterfront, Mr. Chen said that the design concept was inspired by the terraces and incorporated green elements. The green sky garden, the rain garden and the green roof are all in line with the daily life of the compartments. Avoid direct sunlight and natural light.
Even in the afternoon sun, there are still many people jogging along the Punggol Waterfront Bungalow Bypass, cycling and enjoying the "natural city".
The Pinnacle @ Duxton, home to the world ’ s two longest skyscrapers, is an important landmark in Singapore and has been awarded the Presidential Design Award, the highest honor in Singapore, by the Council for High-Rise Architecture and Urban Housing in Chicago.
Nancy, a long-time Filipino resident of Dash Ridge, believes that a large number of green plants make this downtown block green, especially the garden corridor of the 26th and 50th floors, which is 500 meters long, the maximum green space, vertical high-rise green belt homes do not put any pressure on the environment, and a large amount of ventilation system allows the sun to shine in the sky. All power is gone.
Albert Lim, who has been in the construction industry for decades, takes the energy saving point of view as an example, showing that the sky garden model is effective in reducing heat transfer, and even some birds use the sky garden as a resting place.
The renewable energy and environmentally friendly building materials used by the Dash Ridge skyscraper contribute to reducing carbon emissions.
● Green Building Label Towards Zero Energy Building
The Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) launched the Green Mark in 2005, which aims to make local buildings sustainable and environmentally conscious, with four levels: Certified, Gold, GoldPlus and Platinum.
The Green Building Mark assesses the environmental impact and performance of buildings, reduces the use of energy, water and material resources, and reduces potential environmental impacts such as climate responsive design, building energy performance, resource management, smart and healthy buildings, and promotes green efforts.
The Singapore Green Plan 2030 targets at least 80% of buildings to be low-carbon and environmentally friendly.
Green coverage allows concrete buildings, originally thought to be urban jungles, to coexist with nature.
Currently, about 55% of Singapore ’ s building area is greening, and nearly 20% of new developments are ultra-low energy buildings.
In order to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings in Singapore, the Building Authority has also launched a US $63 million (about NT $2,041.2 million) “Green Building Award Scheme 2.0 ” (GMIS-EB 2.0) for existing buildings as part of the cost of assisting owners in their green transformation.
KeppelBay Tower, a zero-energy commercial building, was awarded the first Green Mark Platinum (Zero Energy) certification in October 2020, featuring a high-performance air-conditioning distribution system, an innovative cooling water management system, integrated sensor technology to optimize fresh air, smart LED lighting solutions and smart building control systems.
In October 2022, KeppelInfrastructure @ Changi Building, part of Keppel Infrastructure Holdings, in Changi Business Park, was upgraded to a more stringent green building after renovation work.
The 1.06 hectare building, which was built in 2013, will undergo retrofitting and facelift from 2021, using efficient air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems, smart sensors, LED lights, electric vehicle charging pile infrastructure and a large area of vertical greening, the Construction Bureau said.
It is worth mentioning that the renovated building has water-saving devices, which greatly reduce water waste, can also collect rainwater for irrigation, and the various waterproof and other systems used in the interior use sustainable green building materials.
Surprisingly, more than 4,000 square meters of solar panels are installed on the roof and the walls of the building itself, generating about 600,000 kWh of renewable energy per year.
This is equivalent to at least 245 tons of CO2 emissions per year, equivalent to planting more than 7,000 new trees.
At least 115% of the energy consumption of a green building ’ s platinum grade positive energy building comes from on-site renewable energy; the building itself is at least 15% more renewable energy than it consumes.
The National Park Service also assisted in the vertical greening project, planting more than 910 square meters of green plants, significantly reducing the heat island effect.
Cindy Lim, chief executive of Keppel Infrastructure, said the revamped building met the highest standards of the Green Building Mark and was the first Singapore building to be awarded Platinum Positive Energy Certification.
DBS also launched the Zero Energy Building on 18 July 2022. The 30-year-old DBS Newton Green Building, located on Bukit Timah Road, was awarded a Platinum Green Building by installing a solar panel roof and low-energy appliances.
Before the renovation, the building consumed 845,000 kWh per year, which is equivalent to the energy consumption of about 200 4-room government blocks per year.
The renovated building uses smart lighting and air-conditioning systems to achieve significant energy savings, with an annual energy consumption of more than 580,000 kWh, while other renewable energy sources can generate 250,000 kWh per year from 1,000 square meters of solar panels installed on the roof.
In addition to enhancing ventilation, green plants covering more than 50% of the exterior walls help the building absorb heat and cool down, and become a habitat for birds and butterflies.
Desmond Lee, the national development minister, said that the DBS zero-energy building reduces carbon emissions by more than 20%, and that greening the building is crucial to further reducing the carbon emissions of the built environment.
● Achieve the 80-80-80 target by 2030
In 2021, Singapore announced a green development blueprint with 80-80-80 targets to achieve 80% green building targets by 2030, 80% of new development projects will be upgraded to ultra-low energy buildings, and the energy efficiency of green buildings will be increased to 80%.
The Shaw Tower is undergoing redevelopment and is expected to be completed by 2025. The renovation project is awarded the Platinum Green Label for ultra-low energy consumption. Through the use of hybrid air conditioning system, smart lighting and power management strategy, energy efficiency can be improved by 60%.%.
Steven Ng, who used to go to Shaw Building for business, said that once the Shaw Building is renovated, it will be like injecting new living water, improving work efficiency with the improvement of the office environment, the most important reason is to greatly save energy, and the renewable energy generated by the rooftop solar panels creates green space for the entire building.
He said that the office space in the building through intelligent system control, not only can monitor the air quality and lighting system, but also the air quality of the office environment can be monitored.
Singapore is committed to creating green building targets with leading indicators to create liveable cities and reduce carbon footprint in response to climate change, said Su Junxu, a builder with decades of experience in construction.
In particular, with regard to the 80% building greening target, Singaporeans must strictly enforce sustainable environmental development regulations, implement green labeling requirements, and use energy data to create green buildings.
There are currently 22 zero-energy buildings in Singapore, eight of which are located at Nanyang Technological University, the largest number of local universities, and Nanyang University is known as the greenest campus in the country.
Kelvin K.F. Law, a scholar at Nanyang Polytechnic University, said that when global warming or climate change, a small and densely populated Singapore with no natural resources is the biggest victim, the Singapore government now has to do to ensure that the next generation can survive, so there will be a lot of green buildings, tree planting, cisterns or solar panels.
Luo believes that many buildings in Singapore have sensors installed in the air conditioning system, when people are indoors to turn on the air conditioning; outdoor green space is everywhere, such as the atrium or the top floor of the building have a lot of greening facilities to reduce the indoor temperature.
Green buildings are in line with the world trend of energy conservation and carbon reduction, and Singapore, which lacks natural advantages, can only deploy ahead of time to achieve its sustainable development goals.
Today, Singapore has quietly switched to green building, focusing on green building to create jobs and a new engine of economic growth on the road to sustainable development.
Green Buildings in Singapore
Extended reading
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Indoor vertical gardens are highly effective at purifying air, reducing harmful pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter by up to 40% and 60%, respectively, while also addressing indoor air pollution challenges with systems like those tested by the University of Technology Sydney.

Title:

Content: In order to improve the environmental air quality and let children learn with peace of mind, the Taichung Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau has continued to build a clean air green wall in the school. This year, 12 schools in Jianping Elementary School, Juren Elementary School and Chongde Elementary School have received subsidies from the Environmental Protection Department.
According to the Environmental Protection Bureau, through the installation of clean air green walls, indoor air quality can be improved. At present, space such as classroom corridors and flower stands outside the daughter wall in Taichung City can be planted, which can achieve the benefits of dust retention, air pollution absorption and temperature regulation.
In order to strengthen the protection of the school environment for children, the Taichung City Environmental Protection Bureau expanded the subsidy for the construction of a clean air green wall on the campus, and the current subsidy amount to 1.76 million yuan, with an area of 358 square meters.
The Environmental Protection Bureau stressed that currently selected plants that can purify the air and do not need to spend too much money and time to maintain include the Dragon Tubeh, the Junzi and Wu Bamboo, the Turtle, the Cannonflower or the Honeysuckle.
How good is the effect of clean air green wall?
According to international research, vertical clean air green walls can reduce the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10) by about 40% and 60%. In addition, green walls can also reduce the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in classrooms by about 10% and the concentration of ozone (O3) by about 30%.
Green wall is the most natural and energy efficient air purification facilities, no need to plug in electricity, self-circulation, to achieve the purpose of air purification, can be called the "most environmentally friendly air purifier".
Chen Hongyi, director of the Environmental Protection Bureau, said that in addition to blocking outdoor pollutants and improving indoor air, the air green wall can also adjust the temperature and drive energy conservation and carbon reduction. Next year, Taichung City is expected to expand the subsidy target, including community activity centers, public kindergartens and environmental night markets.
# Green Wall # Air # Cleanliness # Campus # Environment

These installations also contribute to temperature regulation, with studies showing reductions in wall temperatures by up to 5°C, which enhances energy efficiency and reduces the need for air conditioning in urban environments.

Title:

Content: Africa Has Its First Chief Heat Officer. Five Things Should Be On Her Agenda

24 February 2023
analysis

Freetown's heat officer can set an example to Africa and the world as temperatures and risks rise.

Eugenia Kargbo has an unusual job: she is the city of Freetown's chief heat officer. Her role in Sierra Leone's capital is the first of its kind in Africa. She has been tasked with raising public awareness about extreme heat, improving responses to heat waves, and collecting, analysing and visualising heat impact data for the city, which is home to 1.2 million people.

Freetown is increasingly threatened by dangerous temperatures. In 2017, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ranked Sierra Leone third, after Bangladesh and Guinea Bissau, on its list of countries most vulnerable to climate change.

The risks are concentrated in its capital and largest city, Freetown, where some 35% of the population live in 74 informal settlements like Kroo Bay, often in disaster-prone areas like the seafront or hillsides. Houses are densely built and typically temporary structures made of "heat trapping" materials. Services that supports cooling, such as water and electricity, are usually inadequate.

As an architect whose work includes researching ways to reduce heat in African cities, I think the creation of an Heat Officer position is a good move. The world's cities are almost all getting hotter and, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned, temperatures will only keep rising.

But, while this is a global challenge, African cities are unique. The significant proportion of urban dwellers who are poor and those whose living conditions do not provide adequate shelter from the elements make the African context unique and deserving special attention.

With these realities in mind, here are five things I'd suggest should be on the agenda of both Kargbo and any other heat officer appointed elsewhere on the continent in future.

1. Take a diverse approach to urban greening

Nature-based approaches are a great way to address increasing temperatures linked to climate change. Scholars have established positive links between green infrastructure, temperature moderation and even health outcomes in African cities as well as elsewhere in the world.

This has informed a growing number of tree-planting initiatives and the development of urban parks. But it is important that municipalities move beyond only these kinds of spaces. African cities are becoming densely populated; that means less space will be available for greening initiatives on land.

Vertical systems of building (for example on walls, roofs, columns) and urban infrastructure (for example on bridges, road furniture) should be explored to make up for the lack of space on the ground.

In the last few years, I have led the design and development of experimental vertical gardens in low-income areas of Nigeria and Tanzania. We have shown that these vertical gardens reduce wall temperature of residential buildings by as much as 5°C in Dar es Salaam. The gardens have other benefits like providing fresh vegetables for household consumption. Similar ways of growing vegetation vertically have been seen elsewhere in the world, including in Mexico City.

2. Strengthen the link between heat and health

Exposure to extreme heat usually comes with health problems - and can even kill people, as I and many other scholars have documented. It exacerbates underlying health conditions.

One area of concern when it comes to the heat-health nexus in African countries is that mosquito numbers increase in higher temperatures. This means malaria and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes might become significant problems for Freetown and other African cities.

These health problems are further complicated by the fact that many city dwellers across the continent can't access adequate and affordable health care. Community health initiatives within cities and efforts to ramp up health services in qualitative and quantitative terms must be integral to heat adaptation plans and actions.

3. Focus on early warning and improved awareness

It is far better to be proactive than reactive. Heat vulnerability patterns within Freetown and other African cities must be studied and used to make sense of weather predictions in order to inform warning systems.

In the warning systems, for example, an alert level can be triggered when the weather forecast shows three or more consecutive days with daytime maximum temperature and humidity above a threshold of, say, 30°C. Other levels of alerts can correspond with higher temperatures. This sort of system has been implemented in Toronto, Canada, with good outcomes. A recent study of urban areas in Ontario (the province where Toronto is located) shows that early warnings may have meant fewer heat-related illnesses severe enough to warrant hospital or clinic visits.

4. Encourage the transfer of knowledge

Cities can adapt to heat faster when they share knowledge and experiences. Some scholars argue that inter-city collaboration and knowledge-sharing can enhance municipalities' resilience and improve urban residents' skills to deal with heat-related issues.

Kargbo's work will generate many lessons that can be shared with other African cities; she, too, will learn from other cities' successes and failures.

5. Let locals lead

While there is plenty to learn from more developed countries outside Africa, it is important to also draw from local indigenous knowledge and practices. An examination of knowledge and awareness about climate-related and environmental problems in African traditional society shows there is much to be learned from indigenous systems.

Top-down approaches are not enough. They must be complemented by bottom-up approaches in the planning, funding, execution and assessment of heat adaptation initiatives.

Inclusion is also important because it shifts power to those who are most affected by heat - people living in low-income and informal areas are disproportionately affected. Involving them enhances the impacts of initiatives and interventions.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Olumuyiwa Adegun is a Senior Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure.

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Beyond physical benefits, vertical gardens positively impact mental health, as research from the University of Tokyo indicates that exposure to greenery can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety while improving self-esteem and life satisfaction.

Title:

Content: University of Tokyo Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences (GSALS) and Sekisui House, Ltd.
A joint research project on biodiversity and human health was launched on 1 December 2022 to investigate the benefits of biodiversity and the urban natural environment for human health / well-being.
This will be the world ’ s first comprehensive study of the impact on residents ’ health of interacting with the natural environment of a nearby biodiversity-rich garden, as well as their attitudes and behaviors towards nature.
The Conservation Ecology Laboratory of the GSALS Department of Ecosystem Studies at the University of Tokyo conducts research on the conservation of urban biodiversity and the management of ecosystem services (benefits of ecosystems to human society).
The lab has been studying the relationship between nature and human health since 2016.
Its research shows that interaction with nature can improve human health / well-being.
However, the question of how these health benefits vary according to nature ’ s quality rather than quantity has not been explored.
In 2020, the lab investigated how two ways of interacting with nature (i.e., the frequency of green space use and viewing green plants from a home window) affect the mental health of city dwellers (self-esteem, life satisfaction, happiness, depression / anxiety symptoms, and loneliness).
The results of the study show that not only are people who regularly use green space, but also those who live in houses with green views have better mental health.
This shows that even if people can ’ t be in a green space, the natural landscape of their own home can be beneficial for their mental health.
In the figure, the size of the positive (right side of the dotted line) and negative (left side of the dotted line) effects indicates that there is a positive or negative relationship between each factor and each mental health indicator.
For example, “green landscape ” was associated with low levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, while“ Covid-19 impact on income ” was associated with high levels of depression and anxiety symptoms.
Analysis of the results suggests that experiencing nature can affect mental health to the same extent as factors such as income that have traditionally been considered important for mental health.
Since 2001, Sekisui House has been committed to preserving biodiversity by building a green network in urban residential areas through its “Gohon no Ki ” (Five Trees) Project.
The project is a project that aims to build gardens and communities with native tree species in the relevant area. Since 2019, it has been working with Kubota Laboratory and Think Nature Inc.
Joint research has shown that the Gohon no Ki project ’ s emphasis on planting native garden trees has led to improvements in biodiversity in urban areas (three major metropolitan areas in Japan) where there has been a significant decline in biodiversity.
This new joint research project will combine analytical methods developed by the GSALS Conservation Ecology Laboratory at the University of Tokyo with the Gohon no Ki Project at Sekisui House to conserve biodiversity.
It is also the first attempt to scientifically study the impact of biodiversity landscaping on human health and well-being.
The study will also demonstrate the importance of building biodiversity gardens from a biodiversity perspective, rather than simply “greening. ”
The lab is conducting research to test five hypotheses about the relationship between human health and interaction with nature under the themes of mental health, physical health, cognitive function and community health.
For now, the new joint research project will focus on two hypotheses related to mental health, as well as one related to cognitive function.
However, this is a long-term joint research project that will also examine community health and other health-related topics.
Masashi Soga, associate professor of GSALS at the University of Tokyo, commented on the joint research project as follows: “People always turn to nature for relaxation and tranquility, and recent research and technological advances have made it possible to quantify these intangible health benefits.
However, little is known about the role of biodiversity in providing these health benefits.
If we can elucidate this issue, perhaps we can develop appropriate landscape and green space management to support harmonious coexistence with nature, which is desirable both from the point of view of protecting biodiversity and enhancing human health. "
“This joint research project is a large-scale survey designed to examine how interacting with nature in our gardens affects our health and well-being, as gardens are probably the natural world most familiar to most of us. ”
Garden biodiversity is an area that has so far been difficult to study, but Sekisui House ’ s nationwide planting data will allow us to conduct the world ’ s first comprehensive survey of the relationship between garden biodiversity and human health, and the way people appreciate nature and interact with it.
So far, the discussion of nature ’ s health benefits has tended to focus on relatively large areas of greenery such as green spaces and forests, but with this new study, we hope to shed light on the importance of actually ‘ living with nature ’.
Our research will hopefully help promote the conservation of urban biodiversity, "he said.
GSALS and Sekisui House at the University of Tokyo aim to contribute to the conservation of urban biodiversity and the building of a nature-friendly society by sharing findings about how the way people interact with nearby nature in an urban environment and how people appreciate and interact with nature affects people ’ s mental health.

Plant selection for vertical gardens must consider climate conditions, with drought-tolerant species like succulents suited for arid regions and moisture-loving plants such as astilba thriving in humid environments.

Title:

Content: Recommendation technologies are used on the information resource (information technologies for providing information based on the collection, systematization and analysis of information relating to the preferences of Internet users located on the territory of the Russian Federation)
Unusual flower beds for garden
Modern trends dictate not to plant the entire plot with beds, but to create gardens and flower beds in order to have a pleasant rest alone or in the company.
In order to make the garden of your dreams in the country, you can create amazing flower arrangements in flower beds that will add comfort and beauty to the site.
1.
Rutarium
Stunning compositions
The unique art of creating compositions from wood, which is perfect for decorating a flower garden.
Rutarium is the cultivation of plants in specially carved cavities of various wooden elements.
Examples may be round firewood, log or old tree trunks.
This is a great way to give the flower garden a unique appearance and place interesting accents on the site.
Rutaries are of different types:
Natural rutarium - unites elements of the plant world, alive and not, in their natural state, without being subjected to human changes.
Basic Rutarium – It uses elements of wood that have been processed but retain their original structure and shape.
Basic Rutarium
Art-routine includes both living and non-living elements.
The focus is on a wooden sculpture or figure, such as a driftwood or stump, which becomes the centerpiece of the composition and is complemented by living plants to emphasize its beauty.
To create a rutarium, you can use a variety of plants, from flowering and ferns to herbs, berries, vines and even low coniferous shrubs.
This allows each routine to be unique and unique.
Bright flowers are good for him too.
2.
Ensemble of leaves
Very picturesque
Another option for decorating a flower garden is a composition of various plant species with a variety of leaf shapes and colors.
This will help to achieve a beautiful and harmonious combination of the flower bed with the rest of the green part of the garden, which will please the eye and soul.
Place plants with different leaf textures next to each other to create an amazing effect.
Coloured leaves are also good.
For such a flower garden, many plants will suit - daromeoa, sugar medunitsa, brunner, cuff, badan thick, geyhera hybrid.
Astilboides tabulireformis with lamellar leaves.
Peltiphyllum peltifolius - the thyroid leaves of this plant will contrast beautifully with the surrounding greens.
Podophyll peltatum, podophyll rodgersia, hosts of various large varieties.
Bergenia large-leaved and labaznik large-leaved complete the composition.
3.
Alien landscape using succulents
Very unusual flowers
For example, they can be placed in an old stump - this is another interesting idea for a flower garden.
Succulents are distinguished by unusual shapes and textures of leaves, which allows you to create amazing compositions in old stumps or other unusual places.
Such a flower garden will attract attention with its exoticism and originality.
They are divided into two main categories depending on the location of water storage:
Stem succulents have stems that are thickened and able to store water in their tissue, whether it is bark or its own core.
To this group belong many representatives of the family of cacti, as well as some species of euphorbia.
Really Alien
Leafy succulents, they have water stored mainly in the leaves, which makes them dense, elastic and fleshy.
Typical representatives include aloe, lithops, havortia, echeveria and various types of tolstyanaceae.
4.
Animals from plants with openwork foliage or moss
Hedgehog from plants
For example, for hedgehogs on the site will be suitable for cineraria.
This is not only an attractive design element, but also a great way to add a touch of originality to the garden.
In garden design, a special place is occupied by plants with elegant openwork leaves, which give the landscape lightness and unique style.
These include - ferns, such as fegopteris, nomad, eagle; umbrella - this group of plants is known for its complex and openwork leaves.
Among them are the butene and the femur, which decorate the garden with their umbrellas, the kervel and the myrris fragrant, as well as the Peloponnesian molopospermum and the thin-leaved gircha.
Buzulniki - Tangut and Buzulnik Przewalski attract attention with their large and expressive leaves.
These plants not only decorate the garden, but also make it a feeling of lightness and airiness.
From moss, you can also create beautiful sculptures or decorate glades, giving the garden mystery and charm.
This can be a lined decorative path, a flower bed in the form of a turtle, or an alpine slide consisting also of moss.
Turtles from moss
Gypsum moss is perfect for softening stony corners, cuckoo flax, fern moss.
Sphagnum, which is known for its ability to retain moisture, making it indispensable for moisture-loving plants.
Dicranum will add a textural accent to garden compositions.
These plants can be used not only for decorating rocky surfaces, but also for revitalizing pillars, metal fences and fences.
Due to their unpretentiousness and ability to adapt to various conditions, they grow perfectly on both vertical and horizontal surfaces, without requiring complex care.
Path of moss
5.
Creating a secret garden in a thick shade
The Secret Shelter
Here you can use ferns and shade-loving plants that frame gazebos and pergolas, creating mysterious grottoes.
This place will be a pleasant shelter from the sun and a place to relax in the shade.
In order to close even the roof of the gazebo fit any climbing plants, such as wild grapes, climbing rose or clematis.
In these places sheltered from the sun, you can put tables, chairs or benches and enjoy the shadow in the hot summer days.
6.
Snow-white composition in a flowerbed
Monochrome flower garden
Solid flower garden, consisting only of white flowers - lily of the valley, dahlias, echinacea, blooming phlox pillows, silver velvety chistetz, stennik, karyopteris, astilba, goryanka, kupens, tiarka, hosts
7.
Decorative bows
Any plant is beautiful
Plants with round inflorescences create arches or arcs, forming the effect of an exhibition garden.
It will attract attention and delight the eye.
Among the vast variety of ornamental bows are especially attractive - aflatun, inclined, Christophe, Dutch onion, popular due to its durability and beauty, executive bow, karatava, macleana, suvorova onion has unique twisted leaves.
8.
Cereal field on the site
It is necessary to correctly combine various decorative cereals
Decorative cereals can add texture and volume to the flower garden.
They should be planted in the center or along the edges of the flower garden to create an amazing steppe landscape, as well as mix different combinations of cereals to create interesting combinations.
Among them, we can distinguish Chinese miscanthus, cowl, blue prayer, festuka, a variety of shades from blue-green to silver makes it popular in landscape design, the emperor is cylindrical, stands out for its bright red tips of leaves.
9.
Use of floating containers
It looks incredible.
To create the illusion of a floating decorative vessel in a decorative pond on the site, any plants that tolerate moisture well and can grow in pots are suitable.
A variety of flowers and greenery placed in containers will look original and attract the attention of guests.
The artificial vessel can be fixed with a ballast at the bottom of the pond, or give it the opportunity to swim freely.
10.
Using gladioluses with a dense bouquet
A lot of bright colors decorate the garden
Such a composition can be surrounded by a carpet of small flowers.
This unusual way of decorating a flower garden will emphasize the beauty and elegance of gladioli, giving the flower garden a special charm.
Gladiolus, numbering approximately 300 species, is widely represented in ecosystems from the Mediterranean to the South African regions.
On the territory of Russia grows about nine unique species of these flowering plants.
Italian gladiolus has small flowers resembling grains, gladiolus is tiled with a characteristic scaly flower structure.
Common gladiolus, hybrid gladiolus.
It is important to select flowers
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Maintenance requirements include ensuring adequate light exposure, proper watering techniques, and pest control, with innovative solutions like IoT-enabled irrigation systems enhancing efficiency and extending plant lifespans.

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Content: CityU Start-up Team Launches Animal Testing in Six Months for Painless Diabetes Treatment
Author: Hu Jiaxin
Published: Updated:
At present, patients with severe diabetes are required to inject insulin to control their blood sugar levels. The “Huagang Long Biotechnology ” funded by CityU ’ s“ HK Tech 300 ” program uses insulin delivery based on CityU ’ s “frozen microneedle ” technology research.
The team said that animal testing will be conducted in the next six months, and if the experiment is successful, it is expected that human testing will be conducted as soon as possible in two years, and it is expected that the earliest four to five years will be able to apply to the Mainland Drug Administration for registration and take the lead in treating patients with diabetes in the Mainland.
CityU ’ s “HK Tech 300 ” start-up team, HuagongLong Biotechnology Research, used CityU ’ s“ Frozen Microneedle ” technology to provide painless treatment for diabetics.
According to the team, “frozen microneedles ” can carry insulin, put the microneedles on the skin, and after lightly applying pressure, the microneedles shorter than one millimeter can penetrate the skin surface, melt in the skin and release the drug.
Wu Zilong, a graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at CityU, said that animal testing will be conducted in the next six months, and if the experiment is successful, human testing will be conducted within two years at the earliest.
He said that the team originally wanted to develop the Hong Kong market, but because the listing in Hong Kong requires the registration of medical devices, but the local medical devices have no relevant legal system, so it advanced the mainland market.
He did not disclose the cost of the product, but the target is high-end medical "will not compete", but it is believed to be an affordable price.
Research and development of Internet of Things system to help maintain green wall plants
As for the other start-up team, “Ketop Production ”, it developed an IoT vertical gardening system, each smart flower pot equipped with a microcontroller, responsible for automatic irrigation and fertilization.
Chen Wei-heng, a graduate of the Electrical Engineering Department of CityU, said that unlike the products in the workshop, the system is equipped with sensors, which can collect data on a regular basis to analyze the growth status of plants and do a better job of gardening maintenance.
He said that the system had been adopted by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) and was being tested in the EMSD building.
Lin Xiaofeng, tutor and special professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering at CityU, said that in the past, some indoor green wall plants only survived for half a year, and the system can extend the life of indoor plants for half a year, making the use of green walls more environmentally friendly.
He added that during the mentoring process, he helped the team think about long-term business models, such as how to reduce the bottom cost on hardware, and promote the school to have a green wall and apply its horticultural system to promote STEM education.
CityU announced in March this year the launch of a large-scale innovation and entrepreneurship programme, “HK Tech 300 ”, to assist students and alumni to set up start-ups. The selected team will receive $100,000 in initial funding and professional guidance from mentors.
In a speech at the ceremony, the President of CityU, Mr Kwok, said that the university had invested $500 million to launch the "HK Tech 300" project, and had recruited about 180 start-ups in just eight months, hoping that the project would give young people innovation opportunities.

Architectural examples like the Trudo Vertical Forest in the Netherlands showcase the multifunctional benefits of vertical gardens, including carbon dioxide absorption, biodiversity support, and aesthetic enhancement.

Title:

Content: LIFESTYLE Lifestyle
Nederland ’ s “Vertical Forest ” social housing combines environmental protection and aesthetics to enhance the quality of life
by Cecilia
/ 2021.10.17
Housing problems, land problems, property slavery, and high property prices have all become symbols of Hong Kong, and it is common for overseas places to have high-quality public housing or social housing, and in the Netherlands, Einhaven has just completed a "vertical forest" social housing covered with plants, which combines greenery, environmental protection and aesthetics.
Photo by Stefano Boeri Architetti
Designed by Italian architecture studio Stefano Boeri Architetti, the social house in Yanhaofen, Netherlands, known as the Trudo Vertical Forest, is 18 stories high and 70 meters tall and has 125 units. The balcony protruding between each unit has different width, height and depth.
Low-income people and young people starting families can improve living conditions even for citizens who can ’ t afford private housing, and apply the concept of urban afforestation as a possibility to improve the urban environment and cope with climate change.
Photo by Stefano Boeri Architetti
Trudo Vertical Forest uses white as the main color overall, and is surrounded by solar reflective glass bars, the planting balcony is equipped with sensors to monitor the hydration and nutrient levels of the soil, even the novice planting do not have to worry.
Don ’ t underestimate the amount of plants in a single building that can absorb more than 50 tons of carbon dioxide and emit more than 13 tons of oxygen each year. It makes sense to call it a “vertical forest ”.
Solar panels on the roof provide some of the energy consumed by the building, while reservoirs and rainwater harvesting systems are installed to irrigate the plants.
Photo by Stefano Boeri Architetti
In terms of indoor environment, each 50 square meters (about 538 square feet) unit can be reconfigured according to people, and the floor height is at least 3.5 meters. Although foreigners are relatively tall, they are also full of space.
Each unit has its own balcony, each with a tree and 20 shrubs.
The design takes into account the doubling of the weight and size of each plant ’ s life cycle, and there is a dedicated gardener to take care of it, who does not enter the house, but hangs down outside the building to maintain and trim the plants.
This is not the first time that the concept of “vertical forest ” has been heard, and it has been implemented around the world. However, this time, as a social housing, it is also a big attraction, and I hope to see it in Hong Kong one day.
Photo by Stefano Boeri Architetti

Collaborations between architects and horticulturists can optimize plant selection and design strategies, ensuring the resilience and sustainability of vertical gardens in diverse environments.

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Women in Business: JuliaGarden Design, Ltd.

Natural Beauty

When it comes to creating a beautiful outdoor space—choosing the right plantings for the soil and the environment that will survive and flourish now and for years to come—often requires the expertise of those in the field.

With a Masters Certificate in Landscape Design from the Landscape Institute at Boston Architectural College and the Radcliffe Seminars at Harvard University, Julia Esteves and her husband Artek Milczanowski, owners of JuliaGarden Design, Ltd. in Osterville, bring a breadth of knowledge and experience to her designs that result in healthy and beautiful outdoor living spaces.

“At JuliaGarden Design, we begin the design process by taking into consideration the client and their goals for the space; the values and aesthetics are the driving force for a successful design” says Esteves. Once this phase is synthesized, she says the next crucial consideration is site analysis, especially with respect to understanding soil conditions and utilizing best practices for installation.

Over the past decade, the outdoor space really has become an extension of a home’s interior and the gardens are a critical part of this living space. “The garden encompasses the whole of the landscape, the planting beds, the lawns, and the spaces defined by them,” says Esteves.

She says it is critical that the landscape design is conceptualized dynamically so that it is able to evolve and change over time—after all, a garden is full of life. “We are always mindful of long term plant resilience goals—natural amendments to support plant growth and establishment,” says Esteves.

For example, she says, JuliaGarden Design’s approach is to create a layered design starting with a density of ground cover matrix plantings to reduce the use of mulch over time and create healthy gardens. Esteves affirms this affects everything from water uptake to soil health….

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