GB2412558A

GB2412558A - Plant container

Info

Publication number: GB2412558A
Application number: GB0506138A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Marie Elizabeth Clarke; Alan Conisbee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-03-30
Filing date: 2005-03-24
Publication date: 2005-10-05
Also published as: GB0506138D0; GB0407102D0

Abstract

The container 1 has an enclosure formed of mesh 2 which is capable of supporting a growing medium 3. The growing medium is either formed from a material which does not drain through the mesh or is restrained in a pierceable bag so as to retain the growing medium within the enclosure. The container is provided with a fixing arrangement, whereby the enclosure may be secured to an inclined or substantially vertical surface of a structure such as a building. The mesh has a size sufficiently large to permit plants to be planted therethrough into the growing medium. A drip feed irrigation system 7 may also be provided.

Description

1 2412558

A CONTAINER FOR PLANTS

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a container for plants and, in particular, although not exclusively, to containers for supporting vegetation on vertical and inclined surfaces, such as walls or roofs of buildings or other structures.

Background of the Invention

There is a great interest in covering structures, such as walls and/or roofs of buildings and the internal walls of atria with vegetation for the ecological diversity the vegetation encourages and for the visual softening of built environments.

A conventional manner of covering a vertical or inclined surface with vegetation is to grow climbing or twining plants in the ground or in containers at the base of the surface to be covered and to provide a framework, such as trellis or a network of wires or cables attached to the surface up which the plant may climb. Some climbing plants do not require a supporting framework, but have roots or tendrils with which they attach to vertical or inclined surfaces.

Problems associated with this conventional approach include: climbing and twining plants are limited in their variety; climbing and twining plants which can scale a tall vertical surface are even more lhnited in variety; climbing and twining plants take time to establish themselves and to cover tall vertical surfaces; tall climbing and twining plants in the ground develop large root systems, which can damage the foundations of the structure on which they climb; containers for climbing and twining plants need to be large, to support the growth of the roots; climbers attaching themselves to vertical surfaces can damage those surfaces; when a single tall climbing or twining plant dies, the result can be a widespread gap in the vegetation until a new plant has grown to replace it.

The variety of plants available for vertical or inclined surfaces becomes almost limitless, if growing-media and an irrigation system for the plants can be attached securely to those surfaces. However, the problems encountered with this process include: the difficulty of preventing erosion or slippage of growing media placed in a vertical or steeply inclined plane, such as on the outside of a wall, roof or building facade; the difficulty of installing and keeping plants and their growing-media securely and safely attached to vertical or inclined surfaces, the time it takes from planting for immature plants to grow and interlink, to provide the dense vegetation desired.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of this invention to provide a container for plants to facilitate vertical and/or inclined surfaces, such as facades, freestanding walls and roofs to be clad with vegetated panels.

According to this invention there is provided a container for plants including a growing medium, an enclosure having at least one side thereof formed from mesh capable of supporting said growing medium which is arranged to at least partially fill the interior of said enclosure, said growing medium having means for preventing said growing medium from draining through said mesh, and fixing means arranged to enable said enclosure to be attached to an inclined or substantially vertical surface of a structure, wherein said mesh has a mesh size which is sufficiently large to permit plants to be planted therethrough into said growing medium.

Conveniently, said mesh has a mesh size in the range of 50mm x 50mm to 200mm x 200mm and, preferably, I OOmm x lOOmm.

Preferably said mesh has a diameter in the range lmm to 6mm, advantageously 3mm to 4 mm.

Advantageously, said mesh is made of metal or plastics or any suitable synthetic material.

Conveniently, said enclosure has a quadrilateral cross-section, preferably rectangular or square.

Preferably, the enclosure has three sides formed of mesh with a back panel arranged to be adjacent said building in use.

Conveniently, said back panel is clipped or tied or welded to said three sides of said enclosure.

Advantageously, said back panel is also made of mesh or plain sheet material.

Conveniently, said enclosure has a size in the range lm x 0.5m x 50mm to 3m x 1.5m x 0.2m.

Preferably, said enclosure has a size of 2m x I m x 0. Im.

Preferably at least one support member is located internally of said enclosure across a medium plane thereof to provide rigidity of said enclosure between at least two opposed sides thereof.

Advantageously, fixing means are arranged to pass through said back panel or a backing plate attached thereto or support underneath the enclosure and is arranged to affix said enclosure to said structure.

Conveniently, said fixing means comprise at least one channel member to be secured to said structure and either a bolt means passing through the back panel or backing plate to be captivated in said channel or bracket means captivated in said channel and supporting beneath said enclosure.

Preferably, said growing means is one of synthetic fibrous material capable of supporting plant life, or organic material retained within a pierceable bag through which piercings plants may be inserted into said organic material.

Advantageously, said pierceable bag is made of one of Hessian, or plastics, or any suitable synthetic material.

Conveniently, plural containers are mounted on one or more channels.

Preferably, an irrigation system is provided to provide water and/or nutrients to plants in said growing medium.

In a feature of this invention, at least one container is provided in combination with a structure, said structure having an inclined surface or a substantially vertical wall and said at least one container forms a facade of said structure.

Preferably, plural containers are used providing cladding, and to create, when planted, a uniformity of appearance or shape in the form of patterns or logos or signs.

In a further feature of this invention a facade of a building is formed by plant containers.

The containers and cladding panels of this invention may be planted and developed to maturity at a remote location and transported to be secured to a surface.

Brief Description of the Drawines

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure I shows a portion of a wall onto which containers in accordance with this invention are located, Figures 2 and 3 show stages in the construction of a container in accordance with one embodiment of this invention, Figure 4 shows a partial view of the container shown in Figures 2 and 3 when constructed, Figure 5 shows partial view of an alternative embodiment of a container in accordance with this invention, Figure 6 shows a container attached to a backing plate so as to provide a cladding panel, and Figure 7 shows a vertical cross-section through part of a wall of a structure showing a manner of fixing a panel to the wall.

In the Figures like reference numerals denote like parts. s

Description of the Preferred Embodiments

In Figure 1, there is shown four containers 1, each forming an enclosure and each having at least one side formed of mesh 2 such as structural mesh known as Weldmesh(RTM). The mesh may have a mesh size in the range of 50mm x 50mm to 200mm x 200mm and is, preferably, lOOmm x lOOmm and has a diameter in the range lmm to 6mm, preferably 3 to 4mm diameter, the mesh being made of galvanised or stainless steel.

Alternatively, the mesh may be made of plastics or any suitable synthetic material. The mesh conveniently has a square or rectangular opening, but the opening of the mesh may be circular or hexagonal or any other convenient shape.

The enclosure has a quadrilateral cross-section which may be rectangular or square with dimensions in the range Im x 0.5m to 50mm to 3m x 1.5m x 0. 2m, preferably 2m x lm x O.lm.

The enclosure has a rigidity such that it is capable of supporting a growing medium on a vertical or inclined surface.

Located inside each container is a growing medium 3 which may be a synthetic fibrous material capable of supporting plant life, such as Rockwool(RTM), or organic material, such as peat and potting compost retained within a pierceable bag. Synthetic fibrous material may be selfcontained within the enclosure, but other forms of organic material may be required to be retained within a pierceable bag so as to prevent the growing medium from draining through the mesh. Such a pierceable bag may be made of, for example, hessian or plastics or other suitable synthetic material.

A back panel of the container to be located adjacent to a support surface may be made of mesh or a plain panel and the back panel is preferably secured to a backing plate 33 (shown in Figure 4) and the backing plate is provided with support lugs 4 (three lugs being shown for each container, by way of example, in Figure 1). In Figure 1 the backing plate is shown secured to one or more respective channels 5 which in turn are secured to a support surface 6 of a structure, such as a vertical wall. Alternatively to avoid using lugs, the backing plate may be directly secured to a respective channel or if suitable fixings are used the container back panel may be directly attached to a support surface.

Thus, as shown in the Figures, a rear side of the container to be in use adjacent a! surface upon which the container is to be mounted is provided with the backing plate 33, the backing plate being secured to the container 1 by, for example, welding.

Each enclosure is provided with a trickle feed or drip feed irrigation system 7 threaded vertically and horizontally through the containers to provide water and/or nutrients to vegetation, i.e. plants 8, growing in the growing medium through the openings in the mesh.

rl he growing medium preferably substantially fills each enclosure.

Referring to Figure 2, part of a container in accordance with one embodiment of this invention is formed by mesh 2 which is folded at the lower end and adjacent vertical sides through substantially 90 to form one half of a container 11. As shown in Figure 3, a similar, and opposite, half of the container 21 is formed of mesh 22.

The two halves of the container are brought together, as shown in Figure 4, with the sides thereof overlapping.

The two halves 1 1 and 21 of the container I are secured together by clips or ties 31 of any convenient form, the clips or ties 31 being located around preferably four sides of the mesh, where the mesh opening is quadrilateral, and where the mesh overlaps. There is, thus, provided a stiff cage-like container. So as to provide further stiffening and support for the growing medium, support members 32 are located internally of the enclosure which clip or wrap around horizontal opposing portions of the mesh to maintain the mesh at a substantially constant spacing and to support the growing medium.

A rear side of the container to be in use adjacent a surface upon which the container is to be mounted is provided with the backing plate 33, the backing plate being secured by, for example, welding to the container 1.

An alternative construction of enclosure is shown in Figure 5 in which a mesh frame 40 is formed by bending the mesh to form four sides 41, 42, 43, 44. A rear panel 45, shown as mesh in Figure 5, but which may be a plain sheet of material, such as metal, is secured to the exposed edges of sides 41 - 44 by, for example, welding or by clips or ties (not shown). So as to provide stiffening of the enclosure, and also, advantageously support for the growing medium, a support member 46, which may also be of mesh, is located internally of the enclosure across a medium plane thereof in a vertical and/or horizontal direction.

As shown in Figure 6, a container may retain, for example, four rows of containing growing medium 3, and the support lugs 4 are each provided with a fixing aperture 52 for receiving a bolt (not shown).

Referring to Figure 7, the container is secured to channel 5, the channel 5 being secured by fixing bolts (not shown) to the supporting surface 6. The channel 5 is a rectangular cross-section tubular member having a longitudinal slot in a side thereof remote from the surface 6. A bolt 52 having an enlarged head is located in the slot and the head is retained by an inner surface ofthe channel, the bolt extending through aperture 52 and each bolt being retained by nuts 53.

In an alternative arrangement for securing a container or a panel of containers to a surface, the container or panel may be supported by a bracket which may be secured directly to the support surface or captivated in a slotted channel secured to the support surface.

It is to be understood that features described in relation to one embodiment may, if suitable, be used in another embodiment.

The invention thus described is of a structural framework in the form of a cage-like enclosure which is sufficiently stiff to withstand lateral pressure, to limit distortion and protect against vandalism. Root balls or seeds of plants are inserted through the mesh and into the growing medium which, if necessary, means piercing the bag within which the medium is contained.

Containers may have a major planar surface which is rectangular, circular or irregularly shaped and fixed either singly or as a combination of containers to fully or partially cover (clad) a surface with vegetation so as to create uniformity of appearance or patterns or signs or logos.

The containers are preferably planted remote from an erection site and transported to the required site when the plants have advantageously reached a desired maturity.

Each container may cover an elevational area of about 4 square metres or only 2 square metros for ease of handling, transportation and safety during erection on a surface.

Vegetated containers may form a partial or complete facade of a structure such as a building.

Claims

Claims 1. A container for plants including a growing medium, an enclosure

having at least one side thereof formed from mesh capable of supporting said growing medium which is arranged to at least partially fill the interior of said enclosure, said growing medium having means for preventing said growing medium from draining through said mesh, and fixing means arranged to enable said enclosure to be attached to an inclined or substantially vertical surface of a structure, wherein said mesh has a mesh size which is sufficiently large to permit plants to be planted therethrough into said growing medium.
2. A container as claimed in claim I wherein said mesh has a mesh size in the range of 50mm x 50mm to 200mm x 200mm.
3. A container as claimed in claim I or 2 wherein said mesh size is 1 OOmm x I OOmm.
4. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said mesh has a diameter with range lmm to 6mm, particularly 3mm to 4mm.
5. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said mesh is made of one of metal, or plastics or any suitable synthetic material.
6. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said enclosure has a quadrilateral cross-section.
7. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said enclosure has a rectangular or square cross section.
8. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the enclosure has three sides formed of mesh with a back panel arranged to be adjacent said building in use.
9. A container as claimed in claim 8 wherein said back panel is clipped or tied or welded to said three sides of said enclosure.
10. A container as claimed in claim 7 or 8 wherein said back panel is also made of mesh or plain sheet material.
11. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said enclosure has a size in the range of Im x 0.5m x 50mm to 3m x 1.5m x 0.2m.
12. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said enclosure has a size of 2m x Im x O.lm.
13. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one support member is located internally of said enclosure across a medium plane thereof to provide rigidity of said enclosure between at least two opposed sides thereof.
14. A container as claimed in any of claims 7 to 10 wherein fixing means are arranged to pass through said back panel or a backing plate attached thereto or support underneath the enclosure and is arranged to affix said enclosure to said structure.
15. A container as claimed in claim 14 wherein said fixing means comprise at least one channel member to be secured to said structure and either a bolt means passing through the back panel or backing plate to be captivated in said channel or bracket means captivated in said channel and supporting beneath said enclosure.
16. A container as claimed in any of claims 7 to 10 wherein at least one support plate is secured to an inner surface of the back panel through which said bolt means is able to pass.
17. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said growing means is one of synthetic fibrous material capable of supporting plant life, or organic material retained within a pierceable bag through which piercings plants may be inserted into said organic material.
18. A container as is claimed in claim 17 wherein said pierceable bag is made of one of Hessian, or plastics, or any suitable synthetic material.
19. A container as is claimed in any preceding claim wherein plural containers are mounted on one or more backing plates.
20. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein an irrigation system is provided to provide water and/or nutrients to plants in said growing medium.
21. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one container is provided in combination with a structure, said structure having an inclined surface or a substantially vertical wall and said at least one container forms a facade of said structure.
22. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein plural containers are used providing cladding, and to create, when planted, a uniformity of appearance or shape in the form of patterns or logos or signs.
23. A facade of a building comprising plural containers as claimed in any of claims 1- inclusive.
24. A container substantially is herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1-4 or 5 and 6-7 herein of the accompanying drawings.