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Case Study | Biggest Living Greenwall in Bel Air

Written by Grant Leishman | Nov 12, 2020 6:06:14 PM

UPDATE: Watch this amazing video to see how the wall looks nearly 3 years after planting

 

Custom Greenwall Project Overview

In July 2019 a developer reached out to us wanting to create a custom greenwall for a property in Bel Air, Los Angeles. With a view overlooking the canyons of LA, the owners wanted to create a privacy wall around the back that was beautiful, functional, and brought green to the surroundings. 

 
We did just that, and 15 months after installation, the greenwall is thriving. Check out our process of how we put together this 10 ft tall & 105 ft wide biggest living greenwall in Bel Air.
 
 

A stunning greenwall to match a breathtaking property in Bel Air


The Property

The property is situated high above the canyons in Bel Air. With every finish in this Megamillion Dollar home being of the absolutely highest standards an exceptional greenwall was required to fulfill the clients exact vision. 

 

 

Planning

We began working with the developer on drawing the envisioned greenwall. From that, we came up with a design for the supporting frame of the greenwall, as well as the plant design.

The next step was to design irrigation to suit the climate. Because Los Angeles weather varies, the irrigation system had to be able to be adjusted to cater to whatever weather conditions arise.

 

 

Designing the Custom Greenwall Solution

We mapped the layout of the plants, using our honeycomb pot system. Design is a very important and vital aspect in building a greenwall. It is key to design the layout of the plants and the wall beforehand so we know exactly how many plants of each species we needed and so that the team knew exactly how to arrange the plants on the installation day.

A layout of what our design process looks like

After deciding what plants we needed, we went to a nursery 4 months in advance and had the plants contract grown, saving the client money and ensuring the best quality plants were available. We ordered 2890 plants!

 

 

Building

When building began we specified the frame and got contractors to build the uprights. The frame needed to be able to carry a load of 15lb/sqft and also to stand up to the occasional high winds in LA.  We then created a backing of Trex© board to create a frame for us to hang the vertical rails.

Trex© board backing we utilized as a frame

The next step was to put up the shade netting cloth to allow air to move through the wall and hung the rails on top of the netting. The building of the frame itself took 2 days to complete.

 

Shade netting cloth installation vital for air movement through the greenwall

 

Putting the Greenwall Together  

The plants were transplanted off-site at the nursery into felt bags and delivered to site on the racks shown in this image. They were then staged in the backyard, grouped by plant species for ease of installation. The detailed plant layout plan done before installation was transferred to the physical wall making the hanging of the plants efficient and ensuring we delivered on the original design.

 

The plants being delivered on racks to the site 
 
Our team had one person supervising where the plants were going and 3 other people that were hanging plants according to design. It took one day to complete this process.
 

Our team in the process of hanging plants on the greenwall

By using good sized plants and the honeycomb system we delivered a complete, finished greenwall on the day we left the site. There was no visible system, the look was completely organic with no “tray lines” and the client was ecstatic.

 

Greenwall installed - instant effect

 

Final Product

9 months later, the wall is thriving and fewer than 8% of plants have been replaced. We are ecstatic at the results and looking forward to seeing what the wall looks like in 9 more months!
 

An up-close look at the final product

 

Maintenance Post Installation 

Instant Jungle, an experienced landscape and greenwall maintenance company, does maintenance on this greenwall each week for 1-2 hours. This entails trimming, ensuring that water is working properly, and monitoring the irrigation system based on the weather conditions. They have done a great job in keeping this wall looking stunning.

 

 

Are you interested in creating a beautiful greenwall? Clink on the link below to contact us at GrowUp Greenwalls.