Wednesday 11 April 2012

A Green Roof

In late March we took our first clients for the season to Loches. As we strolled passed the souvenir shop / café on our way to the Logis Royal we noticed they were installing a green roof. The café wasn't open - too early in the year for most tourists. While they were closed they had a team of gardeners working on the roof.

There were barquettes of Stonecrop stacked on the pavement. The plants were hoisted up to the flat roof on a lift and positioned by the men up there. Several Stonecrops are native to here and will colonise walls and roofs for themselves, so these plants will thrive up in their new home.

You can't see it from the ground at all, but it is nice to know it is there. I have a hankering to create something similar for a carport on our front courtyard. This installation, right in the heart of an historic monument, gives me hope that I might get permission to install one here eventually.

Susan

5 comments:

Sheila said...

This concept is very popular
in many large buildings in our
major cities. Some in New York
have vegetable gardens and/or
wild meadows. Great insulation.

Susan said...

Sheila: it's the same in London - Dusty Gedge is a real champion of them there. Here in France Patrick Blanc started the trend for green walls too. They are turning out to be great for certain wildlife. Now they are positively encouraged in the planning process in the big cities.

Santo Caridine said...

Judging by the picture, these plants look healthy and ready to get hit by the sunlight! Sheila's right, as a matter of fact, some of the hotels & restaurants I've been to cultivate vegetables and fresh fruits on their roof/terrace.

Mariam Freame said...

I agree with Santo. A green roof can reduce storm water run-off by 50 to 90%, it depends on the design, though. Also, the peak flow volume is greatly reduced and delayed by as much as 4 hours. If I'm not mistaken, it also minimizes the impact on existing sewer systems.

Brendan Gertner said...

Green roofs allow the storm water to evaporate rather than draining into retention pond which may lead to financial incentives. :( Well, installing a green roof may actually double the lifespan of a conventional roof which can keep you from having to pay replacement costs, at least for the foreseeable future.

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