I have started a new blog showcasing growing food in a Sydney suburban garden in places food is not traditionally grown namely the roof of a chook house and a sunny brick wall.

The blog will closely follow the hurdles and successes and make available any findings that make growing food on garden roofs and vertical gardens possible for anyone.

The blog can be viewed by following this link to foodupthere

Please check it out.

Junglefy has had a busy start to the year with a number of exciting projects underway.  It is a clear sign that the demand for sustainable technologies is on the rise as confidence returns to the construction sector. 

Of the projects underway, three of them are living walls around the country using the ecoVert Pro green wall system. Junglefy has a double sided green wall in Melbourne that has been designed with no fixings into the floor.  The benefits of this mean that the wall can be moved to another premises in the coming years as the business grows without the need for rectification.  This is a five star green star fit-out and the vertical garden totals 30m².  Junglefy also has another green star green wall fit-out in Brisbane that totals 10m².  Our largest current project has commenced in Canberra where twelve vertical gardens are being installed over 12 floors of a new building.  The walls make use of low energy envirolux lamps and metal halide lighting.  The total of these vertical gardens is in excess of 100m².

Also on the drawing board are a number of green roof projects around the country.  Junglefy is involved in the construction of a garden roof project in the Blue Mountains that will utilise the ZinCo FD40 green roof system.  This system was chosen over other systems due to its water holding capacity, waterproofing protection and proven track record in green roof installations.

Other garden roof projects in the pipeline include schools in Tasmania and Sydney, a strata project in Sydney, a university and several other commercial projects.  Further updates on these projects will be provided as they develop further. So as you can see there are many exciting project on the go and we look forward to an exciting year ahead.

This year Junglefy is the sponsor of the City of Sydney's Live Green House.  The Live Green House is a modular mobile home that showcases sustainable building practices and technologies that can be incorporated into new builds or retrofitted into existing buildings.  Junglefy showcased three technologies; the ecoVert™ Home, the ecoVert™ Pro and a dog house with a green roof.  All three technologies attracted a fantastic response and opened peoples minds to the opportunites of incorporating such technologies into their houses or apartments.
Please click on the following links for further details and a time lapse of the installation. Live Green House and Live Green Time Lapse
The Live Green house will be on display at Martin Place in Sydney on the 9th & 10th of November and again during Chinese New Year celebrations from the 12th - 14th of February 2010.

Not sure if you have seen this, but there recently have been reports circulated about green walls failing around Australia and also around the world.  Please see this link:  Failing London Green Wall  for an article about a recent green wall failure in London.

How the wall got to this stage is beyond me.  In order for larger scale walls to be successful into the future they need to be maintained on a regular basis. Imagine what your garden would look like if it was neglected for 3 years?  The maintenance of a green wall needs to be conducted by qualified and experienced professionals who are able to identify potential problems before they get out of control.  The failure that you see in the article could be the result of a number of factors including over or under watering, over fertilising, poor plant choices, pump failure, pests, moulds and fungi or bad design.  A regular maintenance regime should be able to identify these problems before it is too late.

I have observed similar occurrences here in Australia which is unfortunate as Green Walls with the right care can truly be a magnificent addition to any indoor or outdoor space. I believe it is the responsibility of professionals like myself to advise and guide people on how to obtain a long-lasting and vibrant Green Wall. Maintenance is a key part of this technology and without it is doomed from the word go.

If you are looking to install a green wall then please don't be put off by the failures that are occurring.  These are the result of poor planning, poor design, poor installation and poor maintenance.  Make sure that you subscribe to an ongoing maintenance program to protect your investment into the future.  It is a small price to pay to keep your wall looking healthy into the future. 

Happy vertical gardening and maintaining,
Jock