DIY Pallet Living Wall with Tropical Plants
A living wall is inspired by our visions of paradise: a lush jungle where flowers spill over hillsides, moss covers massive tree trunks, and juicy fruits fall from the sky…
When I was working in landscape architecture firms before this blog took over, I got to design quite a few living walls. They tend to be super expensive, and high maintenance! This DIY is my attempt to create a version that anyone can build in less than 1 hour, that is easy to maintain and beautiful. 
It’s part of a larger surprise…. you will have to wait and see! ( I just CAN’T wait!!!)
We start with our favorite building material: pallets!
* Some resources in article are affiliate links. Full disclosure here .
And the only other materials we need are plants! This post covers all the plants I used on this tropical living wall! This living wall is in shade. So all the plants listed are for shade!
As you can see from the building plans below, each tier is tilted at 60 degrees to hold the 4 inch posts. The 2 sides are made from 2″x6″ pine or cedar. The rest are all standard pallet boards, which are usually 0.75″ thick by 3.5″ wide. The length can be adjusted to fit the space you have.
It took us only 30 minute to build, thanks to our best buddy- the Kreg Jig Pocket Hole System!
For each tier we made a water proof “tray” with heavy duty plastic from a black trash bag. Just fold at the corners and tape or staple each to fit!
This planter can be hung or it can sit on top of a cabinet, like we did here. It’s also a good idea to put a couple of screws on the back and tie fishing lines to some anchors so the planter don’t fall forward!
Depending on weather, pour 1-2 cups of water into each “tray” a couple of times per week. Each month take them out, rinse the leaves and fertilize them a bit.
See? It’s so easy!! And if you can’t get enough vertical planters, try this strawberry tower, super easy, and yummy too! 
Happy creating! See you soon!
We just keep the ones we really enjoy and plus holiday seasons are coming, so it’s time to get ready. Anyways, thank you so much for sharing such an informative guide. Looking forward to more posts! <3
In a word just amazing. I really loved it. Thank you so much for such a nice and informative article about the living wall decoration. The best part of your article is, you shared some attractive photos. That helps me a lot to understand everything properly. Thanks again for your effort on this post
It is beautiful! So you are leaving the plants in their pots instead of actually “planting” them into the planter, correct?
Yes , it’s fun to rearrange them! =)
This is lovely and the plans actually make sense to me! Since you mentioned you’ve worked with living walls quite a bit would you mind sharing your opinion of how well this system might work indoors? Many of the plants used here grow well indoors here in So Cal. I’m moving to a beach city apartment soon where the windows will likely be open most of the time if air circulation is an issue.
hi josephine! all these plants will work indoors =)
Wow this is beautiful!! Very nicely done, pallets are great aren’t they? Did you draw up the plans? I am impressed if you did, I have been wanting to learn that skill!
hi mindy! i use sketchup a lot in my work! you will love it!! xo
Oh goodness! I am in love with this idea! I want to try out so many projects with pallets and I think this will be one of them!
This is absolutely AMAZING! I can’t even believe how easy you make it look! I also love pallets – you can do so many things with them!
I’ve been trying to get my boyfriend on board with pallet crafts forever, we have the perfect spot for this! I may just have to do it myself!
This is so neat! With the warmer weather arriving, I am definitely getting in the mood for Spring and pulling out my green thumb!
Gorgeous! I love the vibrance of the tropical plants versus the standard succulents.
This is such a fabulous post, thanks for these great tips!
I tweeted as well via @henningland
http://www.nextdoorpainting.com
http:nextdoorpainting.wordpress.com
thank you gina for sharing! =)
My husband and I just bought a house and I’ve been lusting after one of these living walls so THANK YOU for this easy tutorial! It looks beautiful and I can’t wait to hear more about this big surprise 🙂
thank you shannon!! congrats and have fun with your new home!!
This is such a creative idea! The project definitely makes me wish and hope for warmer weather. Cannot wait to try a project like this once spring or summer arrives. Great post!
Kiara
thank you kiara! happy spring! =)
Hello Ananda,
this looks great !
you can do such great things from pallets.
I have covered a roller shutter box with pallet boards.
Has also become great.
Have a nice time
many Greetings
Uwe
that looks fantastic uwe!! your site won’t let me login to comment!! BTW you should share your projects on hometalk.com, people there will like it! =)
Hello Ananda,
Thank you for your kind words about my Project.
I share this Projects already on home talk.
Also, I follow you at home also talk.
You know so certainly ….
That you can not write a comment on my blog that does not work, I do not understand. As written, I am also here about it.
Have a nice weekend
Uwe
hi uwe, your blog wont let me pass the enter codes! willsend a screen capture in a few days!
this is lovely! we have a homegarden but have never used pallets in this way – thank you for the inspiration!
thank you kate! pallets are fun! =)