Roof Gardens – An Urban Gardening Solution

Roof gardens present an interesting choice for many urban gardeners, but certainly are not a new idea.

One of the earliest roof gardens were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which are thought to date back to 600 BC and the time of Nebuchadnezzar II. Famous as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, there were also gardens at Neneveh about that same time.

With garden space at a premium in urban settings, roof gardens are sometimes the only practical solution, especially in a high rise urban building. To make the best use of that space, often it is necessary to resort to some non traditional gardening techniques like container gardens, raised beds, or hydroponics. The lighter weight of hydroponic systems often makes them more attractive for use in roof gardens. Some forms of vertical gardening, which encourages plants to climb along trellises or walls is attractive for use on roofs as well.

Because they tend to be somwhat isolated, many of the traditional pests are not as much of an issue, which lends itself to organic pest controls as well. Much of the work associated with traditional gardens is eliminated, since the use of containers or raised beds eliminates the needs for tilling. The bigger problem with roof gardens is usually irrigation, as sources of water on the roof can be difficult to procure.

Some famous contemporary roof gardens include Chicago City Hall, the Kensington Roof Gardens in London, along with several others in London). There is an active Green Roof movement in London that encourages more use of the open roofs as garden space. They are also popular in Germany, There are even companies like Green Roof Service out of Germany who specialize in creating roof gardens.