Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Roof Gardening





I have this vision of New York City gone green. There are so many reasons for it. The tar roofs that the majority of buildings are sporting collect and hold heat in the summer, which makes air conditioning a necessity for most apartments to support life, especially the top floors. Covering the roofs instead with green plants would moderate the temperature while cleaning the air. It would also provide better roosting spots for birds of prey so we wouldn't have as bad of a rodent infestation, little birds also eat bugs which would be helpful. There are some roof gardens around town but they are mostly patios for the rich. I feel that a tax rebate for roof gardeners is the only way to get property owners to invest in the quality of air in the city. Not to mention the quality of life which would vastly improve if more buildings were romantically draped in ivy. Hearty low maintanence plants like beach grass or clover are also good options. There is also the idea of actually growing food which would reduce the amount of gasoline used in food delivery. Below is a view of Rome's vast array of roof gardens, the italians being a culture of gardeners have a bit of a headstart on us.

For more information on the benefits of Roof gardens and how to construct them click here Where they'll tell you all about how cool this book is:

2 comments:

Miss Lady K said...

Yay! I finally had time to read through your blog, you are an amazing writer...Nice Nance!

I can't get on my roof, but I'm making a garden section out of my front yard in the spring...thinking about a little gardening party!

Unknown said...

my sis is really interested in this possibility for the future .... she is an architect