Lacking available ground space is not preventing residents of densely populated cities from growing their food or flowers. Rooftops are utilized to produce organic food and veggies, and the best part is that these gardens beautify relaxation spots in buildings.
Several major cities worldwide are creating beautiful scenery with rooftop gardens. There is an environmental advantage to creating rooftop city gardens.
While they remain attractive, rooftop gardens can reduce a city’s temperature by almost 4 degrees Celsius. High Line Park in New York, Kensington Roof Garden in London, and Gardens by the Bay in Singapore are among the world’s most famous rooftop gardens.
If you are inspired by any of these amazing rooftop gardens and want to create something similar, you will need a few helpful tips on how to create a sustainable roof garden.
What Is a Rooftop Garden?
A rooftop garden or roof garden is a creative gardening option that involves utilizing available spaces on the top floor of a commercial or residential building. Rooftop gardens are usually seen in urban areas, especially in densely populated areas.
Due to the lack of available ground spaces, rooftops are transformed into gardens to grow fruits, veggies and flowers.
Rooftop gardens are ideal for sustainable living. It’s the perfect relaxation spot to feel a connection with nature in cities where carbon pollution is the norm.
These gardens exist on the top floor and they are durably designed to withstand the conditions of their location. The green roof vegetation is of two different types which are extensive and intensive.
Extensive vegetation is just herbs, small plants, and shrubs. Intensive vegetation consists of small trees and heavy shrubs on rooftops.
Learn more: 10 Benefits of a Wildflower Garden
Tips for a Sustainable Roof Garden
Here are a few tips for creating a sustainable rooftop garden.
Structural Integrity
The first step in preparation for utilizing rooftop spaces for gardening is to determine the load-bearing capacity of the roof and the structural integrity of the building.
Rooftop gardens with large growing plants and trees will become heavier over time. This is why it’s recommended you seek the advice of a structural engineer before making plans to use the available space on your roof to grow plants and trees.
Now, if your flat roof is not strong enough to support both human weight and that of a garden, the best safety decision is to have it reinforced.
Rooftop Garden Safety
It’s important to prioritize safety in any rooftop garden. When setting up your rooftop garden, avoid hanging any item over the edges or placing pots on ledges.
If you must place pots on ledges, make sure they are firmly secure and always barricade the edges of roof gardens.
Consider Certain Environmental Characteristics
Setting up a rooftop garden is a different task from normal gardening. While specifications are made to determine structural integrity, you also need to analyse the rooftop site before choosing what plant or flower is suitable for the garden.
Generally, roof gardens have a variety of specific characteristics. Since they are on rooftops, important considerations include wind-breaking and shade creation.
Roof gardens are exposed to sun and windy conditions. Plants and flowers can dry up quickly due to exposure to heat.
Learn more: 10 Benefits of Gardening to the Environment
Waterproofing and Drainage
Well-planned waterproofing and drainage systems are crucial for creating the perfect garden design.
Installing waterproofing membranes and layers helps protect the rooftops from water damage, while a well-designed drainage system is needed to prevent water from pooling on rooftops.
Additionally, prioritizing water and watering, growing methods, and suitable plants is essential to growing a rooftop garden.
Choose Your Preferred Growing Method
Let’s talk about what you should do before choosing a growing method for your roof garden.
In other gardening options, plants and flowers can grow on the ground, in containers, in larger planters, in raised beds or in vertical systems.
Generally, rooftop gardeners prefer to grow plants in water rather than soil. These growing methods are options you can choose from to grow your plants on rooftops.
However, you should be mindful of considering weight and your preferred growing option for the available space on your rooftop.
Consider Practicalities and Access
Roof gardening requires easy access to the rooftop. If you own a roof garden, you should have access to the elevator or stairs to move materials and supplies.
Prioritising easy access to roof gardens is not just important for moving maintenance materials and supplies, it is also important for others to access the garden.
It’s more challenging to move maintenance material and gardening tools to roof gardens through stairs. However, you make your roof gardening less stressful by creating a storage shed or storage area for materials and gardening tools.
If you are generating waste on rooftops, you should look for a sustainable way to compost on rooftops. This saves you money and at the same time, you have available organic materials to fill up gardening containers and pots.
Another challenging task in roof gardening is getting water to the roof to water your plants. There should be a well-planned system design to include water in your roof garden.
Learn more: 10 Ways to Create a Zero-Waste Kitchen
Cost
In terms of the cost of setting up a roof garden, expenses vary based on the size, construction material used, and design site. Expect to spend more during the initial installation of your roof garden.
Roof gardens are environmentally friendly and provide the best relaxation spot. They provide food sources and help you save on grocery shopping, especially if you are installing a vegetable garden.
Installing a rooftop garden would cost between $150 to $400 per square metre, excluding additional costs like permit and design fees.
Setting up a rooftop garden may be more expensive than a traditional garden. However, the long-term benefits of roof gardens outweigh the initial installation cost.
Conclusion
A rooftop garden or roof garden is a creative gardening option that involves utilizing available spaces on the top floor of a commercial or residential building.
Setting up a roof garden requires making sustainable conscious decisions. Prioritizing safety, growing methods, considering environmental characteristics and easy access to watering and moving gardening tools are key to sustainable roof gardening.
The sustainable tips listed for creating a roof garden are tips you should consider before setting up a roof garden.