London ( CNN ) -- Vertical gardens are cropping up all over cities these days , transforming drab urban facades into vibrant jungles of color . These lush expanses have found their way onto the walls -- both inside and out -- on numerous sites in recent years revitalizing public buildings , hotels , offices and even a multi-storey car park in Netherlands . Aside from their pleasing aesthetic qualities , vertical gardens could also deliver more practical benefits says Mark Laurence , creative director at Biotecture , a UK company who design and build green walls . `` The market is rapidly moving into looking at how they can provide eco-system services and green infrastructures for urban environments , '' Laurence said . Their modular hydroponic system -- where plants sit in a soil-free set up with nutrients delivered through irrigation channels -- can be retrofitted to just about any wall . A recent creation erected on the side of Edgware Road Underground station in central London is hoping to improve air quality . The 200-square meter wall near Marylebone Road -- one of the UK capital 's grimiest thoroughfares -- is being monitored by Imperial College , London . `` They have taken initial samples and going at regular intervals to take leaf samples . Then they wash these leaf samples to see how much particulate matter has adhered to the leaves , '' said Laurence . The leaves also have an electrostatic charge that also attracts particles . `` A researcher I was speaking to recently reckons green walls in urban canyon environments ( areas where walls are higher than the width of the road separating them ) are more effective than trees at collecting particles because the way the wind eddies around and then moves down the wall , '' Laurence said . Some believe that in less polluted areas , green walls could be employed to grow food , which could aid urban food security . Biotecture have successfully trialled a wall which grew 45 varieties of vegetable . Furthermore , there 's nothing stopping people building their own , more basic green walls at home , Laurence says . There are various systems for DIY constructions with most requiring a compost-based system , he says , but homemade hydroponic systems can be made using plastic bottles . All you need is irrigation and adequate light .
Green walls turn dreary urban facades into vertical banks of color . As well as aesthetic qualities , vertical gardens may also improve air quality . New wall near congested Marylebone Road in London may reduce pollution .