One of the challenges of looking after a growing houseplant collection is finding the space to display them – especially if you’re living in a small flat. 

But what if your walls could be transformed into a place to display plants, too?

That’s the idea behind a new product from a team of Imperial College London design engineering graduates, which aims to help city dwellers bring nature into their homes. 

The team, known as Shirinoku (named after the Japanese art of forest bathing), have created the Noku Canvas – a wall pod that allows you to display a houseplant vertically using a purpose-made pot and adhesive strips.

Made out of 98% recycled plastic and with a self-watering mechanism, the pods can then be combined to create a ‘living wall’ that only needs your attention once a month, when the water basin needs refilling (you don’t need to take the pod off the wall to do this, either).

In this way, not only is it a great way to display plants when you’re short on space, but it’s also ideal for people who often forget to water their plants (we’ve all been there).

Of course, the length of time it takes for the water to run out will depend on the type of plant you decide to use (different types of plants will require different amounts of water to thrive), but it’ll still give you more time between waterings if you struggle to keep up with things.  

While the Noku Canvas isn’t the only wall-mounted system on the market (living walls have grown in popularity over the last couple of years), the fact that it’s self-watering, customisable and affordable (£35 per pod) makes this new design really interesting.

If one thing’s for sure, we can’t wait to see what other products the team at Shirinoku go on to create. 

Images: Shirinoku