3 Types of Roof Gardens
Aesthetically pleasing, roof gardens are functional as well. Roof gardens can provide hydrological benefits, architectural enhancements and temperature control in addition to food. It can also serve as a habitat for wildlife. When you plant a roof garden there is the potential for many advantages. For instance, it can cool the room below it on a day. It can provide insulation from the cold during the winter. Roof gardens are required in Germany to retain water from evaporating. It will prevent flash floods from occurring. Three basic types of roof gardens exist. They differ according to the maintenance they require, the type of plants the roof will support and the depth of the soil.
Extensive Roof Garden
This is the easiest type of roof garden to maintain because it uses shallow soil. Extensive roof gardens work wonderfully on top of sheds, garages and other small extensions to the home because they are lightweight. The number of plants you can grow on these types of roof gardens are limited despite the ease with which you can maintain them; additionally, they have the least aesthetic value. Examples of plants you can grow in an extensive roof garden are lichens and mosses. Glass, metal and plastic are ideal surfaces for symbiotic organisms like lichens to colonize on. Mosses, which are small green plants, require little in the way of nutrients to survive. Instead, these plants that clint to stones and walls can live off rainwater alone.
Semi-Extensive Roof Garden
A greater variety of plants can be supported by these types of roof gardens because they have deper soil. It can therefore be decorated more easily than the extensive roof garden. Due to the heavier soil, semi-extensive roof gardens must be supported by stronger structures. Because they are succulents that can store water in their tissues, sedums are ideal for this garden type. These plant types do not require watering every day, although they can die or turn patchy during times of drought or due to neglect. Because they require little maintenance, wildflowers are also ideal for a semi-extensive roof garden.
Intensive Roof Garden
Because they can support elaborate arrangements as well as trees, intensive roof gardens require large, sturdy structures, Concrete buildings and on top of roof decks are the most common places for intensive roof gardens to be installed since most single-home dwellings prove unsuitable for such projects. As long as the building’s structure can support the weight, there are no limitations regarding what you can plant in an intensive roof garden.
About the author: Megan Barlow helps others learn how to live cleaner lives. Learn more about sustainable living at her blog on Environmentally Friendly Gadgets.
This article was originally posted at Roof Gardens: Three Types.
