A typical living roof or wall system is shown in US2011/0289839, which discioses a plurality of trays, each adapted to support vegetation and soil therein, as well as irrigation lines providing water to the vegetation. Erosion control to prevent e.g. soil from being washed away is provided by internal walls within each p!anting tray, particularly where the trays are to be used on steeply sloping roofs or vertical walls.

The present invention is derived from the realisation that frying to adapt planting trays suitable for flat or slightly inclined roofs for use with vertical or sharply inclined roofs is fundamentally problematic and there is a need for an alternative solution specifically adapted for vertical or steeply inclined surfaces in which a different approach is taken.

According to the invention there is provided a modular living wall system comprising one or more planter trays, each tray comprising a lid for a planter bin for containing a growing medium and water, the tray having a generally planar front face having one or more apertures for receiving plants therein, the bin having a rear face adapted to be fitted, directly or indirectly, against a wall surface, the rear face of the bin being inclined relative to the front face of the fray such that when mounted to a wall the front face is inclined upwardly relative to the wall, the inside of the bin thereby providing a reservoir for storing water and plant growing medium whilst permitting plant material to grow outwardly and upwardly from the bin out of the apertures in the or each tray.

With this arrangement multiple bins may be stacked directly one on top of another in the manner of a brick wail or indirectly via e.g. wall-mounting brackets and with each bin being essentially self contained for the storage of water and growing medium, such as soil, thereby avoiding the prior art probiems of soli erosion during irrigation, irrespective of the height of the wail surface against which the or each bin is placed.

Conveniently, the one or more apertures in the planter trays for receiving plants therein are shaped to receive specific sizes of plant pot or plant growing container, whether biodegradable or made of plastics material. If the latter, the bottom of the plant pot or plant container is advantageously removed prior to insertion into the aperture in the planter fray, thereby minimising stress on the plant which can thereafter continue to grow into the growing medium contained within the planter bins.

Conveniently, the planter trays may be interchangeable so that a selection of appropriately sized or shaped apertures may be chosen to suit correspondingly shaped plant pots or other types of plant container.

in an alternative embodiment of the invention the apertures for receiving plants therein have sidewalis shaped to correspond to particular sizes of plant pois or other types of plant container such that plants may be simply removed therefrom and inserted into the apertures, such as open-ended frusto-conica! apertures, and being held therein with the lower ends of the plant root balls being in direct contact with the growing medium within the planter bin, which may conveniently be introduced to the bin via an opening on the upper surface thereof.

The invention wii! now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 shows an arrangement of planter trays and respective planter bins according to a first embodiment of the invention, and

Figure 2 is a part-cut away view of a second embodiment of a planter tray according to the invention.

In Figure 1 there are shown four planter trays la, 1b, 1c and Id mounted on respective planter bins 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d and removeably fixed to a wall surface 3 via a pair of mounting rails 4, the raiis 4 permitting vertical positional adjustment of the p!anter bins and their respective trays from the stacked position shown to, if preferred, spaced apart positions, up or down the wall surface 3.

The rear 5 of each planter bin 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d is inclined relative to the major plane of their respective planter frays 1a, 1 b, 1c and 1d, which therefore face outwardly and upwardly relative to the wall surface 3, enabling vegetation (not shown) to grow through the variously shaped and sized apertures 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d. Irrigation channels 7 are provided in the upper rear of the bins 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d which, because of their angular inclination relative to the wall 3, provide at their lower ends a reservoir area in each to allow water (shown in broken outline) to collect for nourishing planted vegetation as required via an irrigation system (not shown) connected to each of the irrigation channels 7 and a water supply.

in use, once the planter bins 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d are mounted against the wali surface 3 in any desired position, they can each be Riled with growing medium which is generally retained therein once the planter trays 1 a, l b, 1c and 1d have been piaeed thereover in a manner as shown in the drawing. Soil retention may be further enhanced by the use of biodegradable plant pots which may conveniently be filled with vegetation remotely and then simply slotted into position through any suitable aperture 6a, 6b, 8c or 6d. This is a particularly convenient arrangement since it means that plant material and growing medium can be easily changed as desired, with the planter frays 1a, 1b, 1c, Id serving to hold plants in an orientation amenable for growth i.e. pointing outwards and upwards whilst also serving to restrain any erosion of growing medium and to mia water provided via the irrigation channels 7.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention in which a moulded plastics planter bin 2e has an integrally formed and inclined planter tray 1e having a plurality of open-ended frusto-comcal apertures 8e shaped and sized to receive and hold previously potted plants (not shown) after removal from their respective plant pots. An elongated opening 8 is provided on the upper surface of the planter bin 2e of size sufficient to allow insertion or removal of a growing medium, such as peat. As will be apparent, when potted plants are removed from their plant pots and inserted into the frusto-conical apertures 8e they can be easily covered by growing medium inserted through the opening 8 with substantially no disturbance of the root ball of the plants, which therefore allows them to be quickly established throughout the growing medium while being firmly held within the tapered confines of the apertures 6e. Although in this embodiment the planter bin 2e is formed integral with the planter tray 1e it will nevertheless be understood that they may instead be separate components and, similarly, it will also be understood that the size and shape of the tapered apertures 8e may vary to suit different sizes and shapes of plant pots.

This modular arrangement for growing plants up vertical walls or steep- sided roofs therefore provides relatively simple maintenance and does not require the separate restraining of plants and growing medium due to the use of vertically orientated planar trays of the type shown in US2D11/0289839. Furthermore, it will be apparent that small or large areas of wall surface may be accommodated with the modular living wall system according to the invention which may therefore be suitable for add-on plant displays to existing structures including domestic house walls and garden walls, as well as for permanently or semi-permanently cladding the walls of new-build structures such as office blocks etc. Where the modular living wall system is to be used in a commercial environment, such as to clad th side of an office block, it will he apparent that differently shaped planter trays or differently coioured plants may be easily used as signage and/or to vary the pattern of or colour of the vegetation from season to season without the need to remove and replace the planter bins on each occasion, which may therefore typically be a permanent feature in which plant material and plant displays may be easily changed as desired.