Ultimate Rooftop Garden Guide [Infographic]

Elliot Butler http://rubberbond.co.uk 3m 862 #garden

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Start Your Rooftop Garden Today!

As summer is over, it’s never been a better time to make a rooftop garden. The weather conditions are ideal, as there’s not much risk of plants dying or drying out from lack of water, unless you forget to water them during any unforeseen dry spells. At this time of year occasional frosts are rare, which gives plants time to start growing before Jack frost nibs at their tender leaves.

This infographic offers some fabulous rooftop garden inspiration for those new to gardening, including hints and tips of what needs to be done before you rush off to the garden centre to start purchasing plants. We’ve also included drainage ideas, tips for selecting the right type of plants for your rooftop area and choosing the correct type of compost or soil to suit the growing conditions and your plants.

You don’t want to be spending your valuable spare time weeding and pruning so we’ve also included some advice of plant care and maintenance.

To give you a flavour of the potential end results the infographic includes some of the most amazing rooftop gardens from around the world. Believe us, you’ll be astounded and inspired!

Read on, and start planning and preparing your own fabulous rooftop garden this weekend.

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The Ultimate ROOFTOP GARDEN GUIDE

Just because you don’t have a back garden doesn’t mean you can’t have a garden at all. Why not try having a rooftop garden?

Here’s some expert tips to help get up and running.

Structure

Let’s start with the structure of your rooftop garden because, if you get this wrong, the rest will be a waste of time.

The Weight

A rooftop garden can be a lot heavier than you think. Make sure your balcony or roof has sufficient structural support.

For example, a standard 40cm sized Terracota Plant Pot weighs around 10kg. Add to that the soil & water and you’re looking at a decent weight for one pot.

Research The Restrictions

Planning Permission

If it is required and you don’t seek permission, you may be breaking the law.

Sorting Out Your Space

Once permission has been granted, it’s time to start thinking about the design of your garden.

What do you currently use the space for?

Entertaining, sunbathing, or an escape from the office perhaps? It’s important to think about this if you want to continue to use this area whilst establishing a garden.

You don’t want to over do it and take up space needed for other activities.

The Do’s & Don’ts Of Drainage

Make sure that all containers allow draining. Plant pots placed on the ground without feet will struggle to drain and can damage your plants.

It’s also important that all the water drains away in the right place. You don’t want it to drain all over your seating area or onto someone else’s balcony.

Top Tip: If your plant pots don’t have feet, you can buy them separately at various gardening stores.

Planning Your Plants

It’s important to think about the ratio between flowers and foliage. Interestingly, it’s actually more difficult to get the balance right in terms of foliage than it is for the flowers.

A great way to add more foliage is to plant some Boston Ferns.

Selecting The Right Soil

Soil is also more complicated than you might think.

Why? Well, regular triple mix soil is easily compacted and needs worm to aerate. A better option is a fertiliser that has a slower release and plenty of Perlite or Vermiculite.

Maintenance Master

Maintenance can vary on what type of plants you have. Some plants take a lot of care and attention in order to flourish, whereas others can, for the most part, be left to care for themselves.

Examples

High Maintenance

This Elephant Ear plant requires constant watering from spring to autumn. You can see that this person has added a wick watering system due to it being so thirsty.

Low Maintenance

One of the most reliable growers around, the Sedum offers gorgeous colour from early spring deep into autumn.

Simply water and away it’ll go.

It’s also worth considering how much time you can give to your plants. If you have a busy lifestyle, low maintenance plants might be more convenient.

Check Out Some Of The Best Rooftop Gardens In The World!

Completed in 2000, this apartment block with amazing roof terrace was created by one of Austria’s most famous artists, Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Waldspirale (Darmstadt, Germany)

Designed by Argentine architect Emilio Ambasz, the ACROS boasts over 50,000 plants and trees, shaped like an overgrown Inca pyramid rising out of Fukuoka.

ACROS (Fukuoka, Japan)

Did you know this rooftop garden features in both Spider-Man and Fantastic Four?

Rockefeller Center Roof Gardens (New York, USA)

Covering 6,000 square meters, these Kensington Gardens are split into three themed areas: English, Tudor, and Spanish pictured above.

Kensington Roof Garden (London, UK)

High Line Park (New York, USA)

This former New York West Line railroad was repurposed in 2006 into an aerial greenway, which carries walkers and joggers 2.3 kilometres from New York’s Meapacking District across Chelsea to the West Side Yard.

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