Reporting from Paris: Urban gardening <br> for the design-minded (or yard-less)

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The Maison & Objet Salon in Paris was a showcase for urban garden design, with a range of solutions for bringing greenery to those without space for a traditional garden.

French designer Patrick Blanc’s vertical gardens have inspired a host of copycats and created a market for bringing the space-saving living wall look into the home.

The Miroir en Herbe, top, designed by Jean-Jacques Hubert for Paris-based H2O Architects, is a sleek work of art that brings a sophisticated touch of greenery to any urban space.

The Cloison Vegetale Etcetera designed by Vincent Vandenbrouck for Paris-based French company Edition Compagnie is an elegant way to hang a garden’s worth of potted plants in a single wall installation.The Boske Sky Planter, right, designed by New Zealander Patrick Morris, is a simple idea: “turn gardening on its head.” Each Sky Planter is suspended by a ceiling hook so it can be hung anywhere. Upside-down orchids, palms and other plants are planted in soil and watered through a porous base in the planter.Because the water directly reaches the plant’s roots, the designers claim you can water just once or twice per month, using 80% less water.

And for those who want a vegetable or a flower garden but don’t have the space, the BACSAC portable garden bag is made from recyclable, sun-resistant double-walled geotextile fabric that can be used inside or outside, on a balcony or a deck. It’s a ruggedly stylish and practical solution for those who want more than decorative greenery but aren’t blessed with the soil to make it happen. We’ve got pictures of this design as well as Vandenbrouck’s wall installation after the jump.

Above: BACSAC portable garden bag.

Above: The cloison Etcetera designed by Vincent Vandenbrouck for Paris-based French company Edition Compagnie.

-- Kristin Hohenadel