MiniBlog: Gardening Where You Can See It: Why Vertical Growing Actually Works

How plant placement changes human behavior

Vertical gardening doesn’t just change how plants grow — it changes how we interact with them. And that shift in human behavior is one of the biggest reasons vertical gardens tend to be more successful, especially in small or busy home gardens.

Visibility Changes Attention

Plants that live at eye level are harder to ignore. When herbs trail from a wall planter or tomatoes climb a trellis, they move into your daily visual field. You notice dry soil sooner. You spot pests earlier. You remember to harvest before plants become stressed or overgrown.

Psychological research on habit formation shows that visibility plays a major role in sustaining care behaviors. When something is regularly seen, it requires less conscious effort to remember and maintain (Wood & Neal, 2007).

In other words, vertical gardening works partly because it removes the need to remember — the plants remind you themselves.

Reducing “Garden Blindness”

Plants tucked into the back of beds or crowded at ground level often suffer from what gardeners experience as “garden blindness.” If a plant isn’t immediately visible, small problems can go unnoticed until they become big ones.

Vertical growing reduces this effect by lifting plants into clear view. This is one reason vertical herb gardens—both indoors and outdoors—are so consistently successful. Plants that are seen regularly are watered, harvested, and adjusted more frequently, leading to healthier growth overall.

Easier Access Encourages Consistency

Vertical gardens don’t just improve visibility — they reduce physical effort. When plants are easier to reach, people are more likely to prune, pinch, harvest, and check moisture levels regularly.

Behavioral science consistently shows that reducing effort increases follow-through, even for activities people already enjoy (Fogg, 2009). Vertical gardening lowers the “activation energy” of plant care, making small, beneficial actions more likely to happen.

Designing Gardens for Humans, Too

Good garden design doesn’t just support plants — it supports the people caring for them. Vertical growing acknowledges that attention, time, and physical comfort matter just as much as soil quality and sunlight.

When plants are visible, accessible, and integrated into daily routines, they stop feeling like tasks and start feeling like companions.

And that’s often when gardens thrive the most.

References

Fogg, B. J. (2009). A behavior model for persuasive design. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology. https://doi.org/10.1145/1541948.1541999

Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2007). A new look at habits and the habit–goal interface. Psychological Review, 114(4), 843–863. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.114.4.843