The Living Wall
Patrick Blanc specializes in vertical gardens: verdant patches
that climb the walls of office buildings, shopping malls,
museums and public spaces around the globe. His newest creation
is the green-bearded exterior of the Athenaeum Hotel, on which
some 260 species of plants (more than 12,000 in all) form
a forest façade rising eight stories over London's
ritzy Mayfair district. Recognizing that not all plants need
soil to grow, Blanc affixes synthetic felt to a frame onto
which roots can cling. Part gardener, part botanist, Blanc
uses automated irrigation and fertilization systems to keep
his specimens healthy and arranges them so that each enjoys
optimal growth
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