The Vertical Garden: From Nature to the City [Hardcover]

Patrick Blanc (Author), Veronique Lalot (Photographer), Gregory Bruhn (Translator), Jean Nouvel (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2008

The secrets of plants that cling, grip, and climb, from the inventor of the vertical garden.

Patrick Blanc, an artist with a green thumb, has created dozens of his admired botanical tapestries in public and private spaces around the world, including the Marithé & François Girbaud boutique in Manhattan; the Jean Nouvel-designed Quai Branly Museum in Paris; the aquarium in Genoa; the Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok; and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan. In this luscious, oversize, all-color book, he explains how to create plant walls using more than one thousand plants, drawing on his observation of natural milieus, his technique of growing on vertical surfaces, his savoir faire, and his passion for plants.

300 color

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[D]ream-like constructions of a modern-day Henri Rousseau, whose single-minded botanical pursuit has become an art form.” (The New York Times )

“[O]f equal value and interest to the serious horticulturist and botanist, artist, landscape and garden designer, architect and engineer…beautifully produced.” (BBC Gardens Illustrated )

“[A] must for anyone who wants to create a magnificent arrangement of plant life…” (The Midwest Book Review )

“This book is fascinating….[T]here should be a vertical garden on every block of every city in the world.” (Dominique Browning - The New York Times )

“[B]eautifully conveys and illustrates the fruits of Blanc’s lifelong passion.” (Landscape Architecture Australia )

“Besides charm, Blanc infuses The Vertical Garden with generosity. He reveals his methods for creating vertical gardens, from building the armature…to his selection and arrangement of plant species….Blanc attempts a critical eye, elucidating the poetry of his work and his oeuvre’s prospects for changing architectural vocabulary.” (David Sokol - GreenSource )

“[E]xquisite….filled with gorgeous photos and plenty of practical insights, and is recommended both for general-interest libraries strong in home and garden design and for college-level art collections strong in architecture.” (Bookwatch )

“Will have wide appeal both to amateur gardeners who are interested in innovat[ion]...and to students and practitioners of garden design…” (The Reckless Gardener )

“[C]omprehensively illustrated….thorough and fascinating.” (EcoTech )

“[D]eserves a place on the gardeners bookshelf….[T]he ideas and techniques for installation are applicable anywhere.” (Jacqueline Soule - Explorer )

“His creations reflect natural habitats around the world from waterfalls to river banks, rocky outcrops and forest understoreys….Stunning photography.” (The Age )

About the Author

Patrick Blanc holds a PhD in botany. He lives in Paris.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (August 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393732592
• ISBN-13: 978-0393732597
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 1 x 13.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The green man's the dude October 12, 2008

By Smarty

Format:Hardcover

Saw him live. Funny man and a genius in his own rights. The book is a bit of a dry read and the design is disappointing. Not user friendly in regards to extract the "know how" to create your own vertical garden. If you're patient, it's content heavy. I would've liked more technical information on how to make it myself.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Extracting some 'How To' from a visionary manifesto March 17, 2010

By S. Steiner

Format:Hardcover

This book is quite excellent, and far more than a travelogue or fashion shoot. In fact, it is more than one book, but rather three very different books: First, an autobiographical sketch on how an only child in France who liked tropical fish became an accomplished botanist and subsequently an innovator in garden design. If you are inclined to listen the story is well-told and interesting. Second is a well-illustrated work of popular botany, on the subject of plants all over the world that tolerate or prefer a vertical life, on cliffs, banks, boulders, buildings, and many other places. (As an aside, I appreciated that Prof. Blanc was clear-eyed about the topic of climate change, and appreciated the complexity of the matter.) Not all of the photographs in this section are stellar, but it is often clear that Blanc was at the moment covered in sweat and perched rather uncomfortably in a place that few people go. (There are too many photos of Blanc himself as well. He is, incidentally, odd-looking.) Third, the book is a catalog of the vertical gardens Blanc has designed, mainly in France but in places as varied as New York and Bangkok as well. As another reviewer noted, the photos here are over-saturated in places, but still very good. I wanted more of them, from more angles, and especially in more seasons. There is a general description of the structures Blanc uses, from the PVC, the structure it is attached to, and the two layers of synthetic felt (he uses polyamide = nylon) with horizontal cuts in the top layer with staples around the soil. There are photos of the works in progress. Note that his plants are fed by an automated system that looks very expensive; home gardeners will need to design something simpler for themselves that drips from above.... Garden forums that discuss hydroponics provide information on feeding inexpensively; people say that a supplier of fertilizer for golf courses should carry economical mixes that will dissolve and be available to plants. There is nowhere a list of plants appropriate for different heat and cold zones, though on several pages miniaturized, handwritten "plans" for some of the gardens are reproduced. Professor Blanc's handwriting is not the best, but I became used to it and was able to decipher a good deal of the species and cultivars listed, many of which repeat themselves. As the gardens range from Thailand to Belgium, many climates are represented, though the only North American garden is indoors, on Manhattan's East Side. As you can imagine, many of the plants that will survive a Paris winter (and certainly in the tropics) will not handle North American weather. Following are plants seemingly appropriate for my USDA Zone 6b/Sunset 34 that I either deciphered from his plans (most) or inferred may be suitable, due to similarity or my research (Note that I have not tried them yet, but hope to in the next few years):

Ferns:
Asplenium scolopendrium `Angustifolia', Asplenium trichomanes, Dryopteris marginalis, Athyrium nipponicum `Pictum', Polystichum acrostichoides, Polystichum tsus-simense, Adiantum pedatum, Adiantum venustum

Small shrubs, woody creepers:
Vaccinium angustifolium, Nepeta `Walkers Low', Jasminum nudiflorum, Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis, Teucrium chamaedrys `prostratum', Gaultheria procumbens, Mitchella repens

Sedum:
Sedum lineare `Variegatum', S. acre `Aureum,' `Majus,' `Minima', S. anglicum, S. rupestre `Angelina' (a/k/a S. reflexum), S. dasyphyllum, S. divergens, S. hispanicum, S. oreganum, S. sexangulare, S. album `Coral carpet', S. spectabile, S. `Vera Jameson', S. hybrids, e.g., x `Morchen,' `Atropurpurea,' `Indian Chief,' `Hot Stuff'

Strappy foliage:
Carex morrowii `variegata', Iris tectorum, Iris cristata, Liriope muscari `variegata'

Various flowering perennials:
Bletilla striata, Cerastium tomentosum `aureum', Gypsophila bodgeri `Pink Veil', Gypsophila repens, Vinca minor

Useful for leaf color:
Ajuga reptans, Lysimachia nummularia `Aurea', Sagina subulata `Irish' (darker green), Sagina s. `Scotch'/ `Aurea' (more gold color). Read more ›

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for anyone who wants to create a magnificent arrangement of plant life September 5, 2008

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Hardcover

A different type of garden, designed for an area where real estate is invaluable, "The Vertical Garden: The Nature of the City" is Patrick Blanc's look at these creations that can be created in almost any urban setting. To the city they bring a visually pleasing image in an area where people only ever see is asphalt and concrete. The gardens can range from any height, from half a story tall to slowly growing up the sides of skyscrapers. Covering the history and skills involved in creating such gardens, "The Vertical Garden" is a must for anyone who wants to create a magnificent arrangement of plant life and doesn't have much horizontal to work with.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Coffee table book. December 15, 2011

By Bonita

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is great if you are looking for a story about the man and his (really cool) projects. But it offers very little to someone wanting to adapt techniques for smaller projects. In all fairness, I have not read the text, just flipped through. But I am looking for information on HOW TO do this sort of thing, on less than a several-story-high scale.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Green growing buildngs September 21, 2009

By Norma G. Leistiko

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I viewed by chance the book "The Vertical Garden: From Nature to the City." I was stunned at the beauty of the buildings shown with entire green growing floors and growing plants creeping up the entire side of the building. Details of how to construct the ladder up which these plants grow and how they can receive water even during dry weather is simple yet profound. The effect of seeing these buildings, all over the world, is stunning. The concrete jungle can disappear and the increase in oxygen and decrease in carbon dioxide can be extremely affected with these techniques. Of course that is to say nothing about the beauty of the building. The growing plants up the side of a building or throughout an entire floor or even roof top has got to be the best idea for city dwellers and workers to breathe easier! Imagine a city covered in plants instead of cement!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book.... September 28, 2010

By Sean Stoddart

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've never enjoyed gardening but was captured by Patricks use of plants to bring life into architecture. As a resident of Dubai I was searching for ways to bring more colour into my dry surroundings and this book is the answer. This isn't a how to book, but presents a history of how the vertical garden idea evolved. It also contains a lot of content and isn't just glossy pictures. I just love it and already have plans to build my first vertical garden...

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book February 11, 2013

By Fernando A. Rondinoni

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Very creative, new art form, great pictures, book covers a few the basics. Patrick Blanc will open many doors for new designs

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book. May 7, 2011

By mevo

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a beautiful book full of information about Patrick Blanc, where he finds his inspiration and how he does what he does. The pictures are amazing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in vertical gardens.