designbuzz.com

How to Design Your Very Own Rooftop Garden

Rooftop gardens may be purely decorative or cultivated for useful purposes like growing all kinds of fruits, herbs and vegetables. Roof gardens prove to be quite beneficial in providing a beautiful landscape which automatically helps to raise the value of your home. They are effective yet low-maintenance methods for eliminating water run offs.

Green roofing is in many ways like any other home improvement project. You need to come up with a plan, taking into account all the necessary conditions for the structure as well your personal needs and climatic conditions. Begin with the process of structural assessment.

Structural Evaluation

A qualified engineer, skilled in dealing with structures or architecture, should be consulted during this method. You need to know what steps to take to support your roof so that it is able to hold more weight than in the beginning, or how much it can hold at the moment, before you start setting up plants over your present roof or fixing a brand new form of a roof over it. Carrying out a structural assessment helps you with your decision of choosing a particular variety of rooftop garden.

Selection Process

The majority of buildings of a suburban nature are suitable for growing a rooftop garden. The primary reason for this is because of the fact that green roofs meant for residential buildings are usually very light, although nearly each roof that is to be changed into a green one needs to be supported through some means so that it is able to hold the extra bit of weight. When designing your own sprawling rooftop garden, make sure you do it in such a way that it can manage the overall load you wind up proceeding with.

You can also opt for another type of green roof, known as an intensive roof, where an assortment of diverse garden arbors with separate planting depths is present. Large scale renovations need to be performed on existing roofs if you wish to develop an intensive roof. So be sure to take all kinds of factors into consideration as you are likely to rack up a huge bill, unless the roof has already been remodeled.

Selecting the type of plants you want to grow in your rooftop garden is fairly easy if you happen to be aware of your climatic zone. Intensive roofing usually suits most plant types due to the benefit of dissimilar planting depths while extensive roofing is more popular with specific kinds of plants like succulents. A landscape architect or your local nursery might be able to provide some valuable advice.

Plant Layout

Coming up with the main landscape plan is really fun. The process will be made easier if you have extensive roofing. Be sure to position your plants in a way that the design does not appear patchy. Alternate between hibernating and blooming plants. Group your plants according to different parameters such as functions, planting depths, properties. Ensure that your rooftop garden looks beautiful but still meets the requirements of each plant.

Today's Top Articles:

Scroll to Top