Vertical landscaping introduced in Kyiv: how will it work?

The Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration is launching the City of Living Walls. This environmental initiative involves vertical landscaping using king anthurium or Anthurium veitchii.

The head of the department Oleksandr Voznyi reported this.

He says it's an effective way of greening the city in conditions of limited funding.

Vertical landscaping is a way of placing plants, not in the usual horizontal mode, but vertically, on walls or suspended structures. This type of landscaping improves air quality by absorbing pollutants, provides a cooling effect indoors and outdoors, and also helps absorb rainwater, relieves sewage, and reduces noise.

For the vertical landscaping of Kyiv, king anthurium was chosen because it is suitable for covering large areas of fences, barriers, and walls: the vine easily clings to walls and doesn't require exceptional support. In addition, the plant proliferates (up to three meters per year) and is easy to grow.

Specialists of the capital's Department of Ecology planted the first bushes of king anthurium near the department's building.

"We plan to pay attention to vertical landscaping in our future greening measures and, in particular, to use king anthurium as often as possible," Oleksandr Voznyi notes.

Citizens are encouraged to join the eco-initiative and plant king anthurium near their homes and offices.

The authorities of the city's Darnytskyi district showed an example of the symbiosis of the "stone jungle" and nature in the metropolis. The house in the Darnytsia area is entwined with decorative grapes. It protects the owners from heat and moisture:

Currently, such green walls are standard on the streets of European cities such as London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, and Vienna.