Living roofs
Three experts explain how to install an eco-friendly green roof in your garden
- Living roofs
- What is the simplest living roof or wall I could create?
- Which designer’s work do you recommend?
- Useful information
John Little
Partner, The Grass Roof Company, 01375 643576, www.grassroofcompany.co.uk.
Cleve West
Award-winning landscape designer and writer, 020 8977 3522, www.clevewest.com.
Noel Kingsbury
Garden designer and author, 01497 831189, www.noelkingsbury.com.
What are the benefits of a living roof or wall?
JL Living roofs are the most sustainable and exciting way to get plants on to buildings. They create unique habitats that always add to the biodiversity of the surrounding space. They are easy to create and require little maintenance. A living roof (pictured) is also great for adding sculpture or unusual objects that you would not consider at ground level.
CW If you can see both wall and roof spaces from your house or garden then greening them up can add a completely new dimension to your surroundings. Green roofs on sheds not only look more attractive, they are potentially beneficial to wildlife. Greening the roofs of larger buildings can also help to reduce the amount of energy needed to cool them during summer.
NK The main benefit is to transform an unattractive flat roof. The best roofs to green are those with a low gradient – extensions, garages and sheds are prime examples. The technicalities of vertical planting are outside the scope of most domestic gardeners, but using a wall as the supporting structure for climbers and creepers is the best way to soften an expanse of wall and to attract wildlife.
Chosen by House to home
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