Amsterdam-based start up Pikaplant have designed a simple shelving unit that keeps your plants watered and alive, even when you're not home.

Pikaplant One is a low-maintenance vertical garden that uses gravity and a capillary action to feed water from a large reservoir on top of the unit, down to special fabric troughs on the shelves.

The troughs soak up the liquid and, using a passive ebb and flow technique, deliver the water to the plant’s roots through the drainage holes in their pots.

Users have to fill the reservoir with several litres of water once a month and the system will continue to automatically hydrate the plants without the need for intervention.

The Pikaplant unit also serves as a green wall or room divider and according to the Pikaplant website would be suitable for houses, schools, open plan offices, hotels, restaurants and cafés.

Courtesy Gizmodo