A great way to bring a bit of nature into city living is having a rooftop garden. People usually think of rooftop city gardens as only being in New York City. Usually places used to hold cocktail parties. But rooftop gardening is nothing new, it has been seen in the Hanging Garden of Babylon to the Kensington Roof Garden in London , England.
The popularity of roof gardens have grown in many other cities in the United States as well. Even people in Vancouver, B.C. are joining in on rooftop gardening too. From hotels, restaurants to local organizations. I think that is a great use of extra space and a way to add a bit of green space. It may even help clean the air too.
Photo credit: Risc’s Rooftop Garden.
Another successful rooftop garden comes from England. The one pictured here is of Risc’s edible roof garden. The garden is complete with over 120 species of edible and medicinal trees, shrubs, vines and plants from around the globe. You can read more about the place here.
Rooftop gardens are usually seen as ornamental gardens, but the idea of growing your own food is gaining popularity. A great organization based out of Vancouver, B.C. by the name of City Farmer’s has a collection of stories about their work in Vancouver, Canada, and about urban farmers from around the world.
Even with the good news surrounding rooftop gardens, there are things to consider such as large consumer of electricity needed for heating and cooling. I suppose there are innovative ways to get around this, such as pumping up hot air from the buildings below. But with good planning and more knowledge about rooftop gardening, you can also plan your own rooftop garden. A fresh bowl of salad sounds good to me anytime!
For further reading, I suggest the following books:
