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“Just a minute… I need to climb to the roof and get some fresh herbs.”
The hotel chef didn’t exactly say that, but he could have. Over the past few years, green roofs have sprouted in the likeliest - and unlikeliest places - in order to:
* reduce heating/air conditioning costs
* reduce storm-water run-off
* increase wildlife habitat areas in built-up areas
* grow fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs.
In fact, the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, harvests over $20,000 worth of herbs a year from an extensive green roof over a parking garage.
Most green roofs in the United States are located on municipal and commercial buildings. Chicago, a city that has embraced green roofs, even has one on City Hall.
But homeowners are also building green roofs, often for the aesthetic pleasure of gardening.
Installing an extensive green roof usually requires the services of specialized landscapers. However, several firms cater to the needs of do-it-yourselfers. (www.greengridroofs.org and www.greenroofblocks.com.) You can use their services, or, taking them as a model, construct your own.
But before you do anything, you need to consider whether your home can support a green roof:
* Do you have easy access to the roof? If not, can you build a stairway from a porch or balcony, or a fire escape, or even from inside a large closet, or the end of a hallway? It has to be wide enough so you can comfortably carry plants, containers, gardening tools.
* Is the roof reasonably flat? If you can walk comfortably on a low-angle hip roof, or shed-type roof, that will also work.
* If you decide on a full-blown green roof, it will be protected by a special membrane to prevent leakage, a layer of gravel and one of growing media, and, of course, the plants. Can your roof bear that additional weight – especially after a heavy rain?
Once you’ve addressed those questions, then you can map out what your garden will look like.
And who knows? Sooner than you know it, you may just start uttering, “Honey, I’m on the roof getting the herbs… I’ll be down in a minute.”
Jack Star is a former bureau chief covering many of McGraw-Hill's trade and technical publications. He now writes extensively on gardening and using the earth’s resources wisely.
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Put your Roof to Work
“Just a minute… I need to climb to the roof and get some fresh herbs.”
The hotel chef didn’t exactly say that, but he could have. Over the past few years, green roofs have sprouted in the likeliest - and unlikeliest places - in order to:
* reduce heating/air conditioning costs
* reduce storm-water run-off
* increase wildlife habitat areas in built-up areas
* grow fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs.
In fact, the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, harvests over $20,000 worth of herbs a year from an extensive green roof over a parking garage.
Most green roofs in the United States are located on municipal and commercial buildings. Chicago, a city that has embraced green roofs, even has one on City Hall.
But homeowners are also building green roofs, often for the aesthetic pleasure of gardening.
Installing an extensive green roof usually requires the services of specialized landscapers. However, several firms cater to the needs of do-it-yourselfers. (www.greengridroofs.org and www.greenroofblocks.com.) You can use their services, or, taking them as a model, construct your own.
But before you do anything, you need to consider whether your home can support a green roof:
* Do you have easy access to the roof? If not, can you build a stairway from a porch or balcony, or a fire escape, or even from inside a large closet, or the end of a hallway? It has to be wide enough so you can comfortably carry plants, containers, gardening tools.
* Is the roof reasonably flat? If you can walk comfortably on a low-angle hip roof, or shed-type roof, that will also work.
* If you decide on a full-blown green roof, it will be protected by a special membrane to prevent leakage, a layer of gravel and one of growing media, and, of course, the plants. Can your roof bear that additional weight – especially after a heavy rain?
Once you’ve addressed those questions, then you can map out what your garden will look like.
And who knows? Sooner than you know it, you may just start uttering, “Honey, I’m on the roof getting the herbs… I’ll be down in a minute.”
Jack Star is a former bureau chief covering many of McGraw-Hill's trade and technical publications. He now writes extensively on gardening and using the earth’s resources wisely.
