Rooftop gardens from around the world - Garden Plants and Gardening Forum

lspichkin · 12-07-2007, 11:01 AM

When space is limited, sometimes a gardener must take to the roof. Around the world resourceful gardeners are turning what would otherwise be an overlooked and underutilized area into a place of beauty and serenity. Plus, you'd be amazed at the amount of fruit and vegetable you can coax out of these small spaces.

Photo: pb031 on Flickr
This garden is part of a spa/health club complex in the Embarcadero section of San Francisco. When there is limited green space in a downtown area, sometimes you've just got to create it.

Photo: gin_e on Flickr
A playful and sprawling rooftop garden at the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, Japan.

Photo: Ian Muttoo on Flickr
This is a sixth floor rooftop garden at St. Luke's International Hospital in Akashi, Tokyo.

Photo: Geek2Nurse on Flickr
Waking up to this Seattle, Washington garden can make you forget that you actually live in a bustling city!

Photo: pbev on Flickr
A gorgeous herb garden in Southern California. Looks like they're producing enough in this space to keep the whole neighborhood in herbs.

Another beautiful example of carving out some green space in an urban area is the City Hall building in Chicago.

Photo: mason.flickr on Flickr

In an effort to save energy and funds on cooling costs in the summer, a green roof was installed on the City Hall building in 2000. This private garden now grows thousands of plants in more than 150 species, and saves the city $5000 annually on utility bills!

Photo: mindfrieze on Flickr

Photo: mindfrieze on Flickr
While the garden is not open to the public (except the occasional tour group) it is visible from nearby office buildings.

Photo: sves on Flickr
The growers of this Senegalese garden produce an income by cultivating several varieties of mint, as well as a host of other edibles.

Photo: mollyeh11 on Flickr
These London residents turned a drab parking structure into a lovely little gathering place. It does an amazing job of breaking up the monotony of brick and concrete while adding some bursts of color to the surroundings.

Photo: Brian J. Geiger on Flickr
While this may not be a traditional garden, I couldn't resist including a photo of these trees growing atop an Italian building. It appears to be possible to grow anything on your rooftop!

gbronner · 12-07-2007, 03:57 PM

What a wonderful example of urban gardening answers. As the grounds supervisor of the oldest chartered hospital in the City Of Chicago I am aware of the surge in rooftop gardening.

The Mayors office is totally committed to the efforts. The city is offering $5000.00 grants to Business and now I believe individuals who are willing to plant a green roof.

This year we converted a concrete rooftop patio in to a container garden area. I posted about it in my blog you can see the pictures and read about it here.
Roof Top Garden Project | Glenns Garden

I will be attending a seminar this January about green roofs and we plan to apply for a grant next year to help further develop our rooftop garden.

Great post and wonderful pictures one of the many benefits of this forum.

Saturn · 12-11-2007, 07:39 PM

That is so cool.

karenj · 12-13-2007, 04:03 PM

These pictures are amazing. i live in an apartment that has a concrete back patio and these pictures are giving me ideas of how to divide the space and what to plant.

ConsiderThis · 12-25-2007, 07:26 PM

I love this thread!

When I lived in London there was a building on Goswell Road that always caught my attention in the spring because there were tubs and tubs of daffodils on the narrow balcony...

Some years later I ended up renting the flat to which it was connected, and I began to take care of them. It was sooooo great.

Sadly I didn't have a very good camera then, and for some reason all my images turned out with a heavy yellow tinge...

This doesn't show how far the daffodils extended. Darn!

12-07-2007, 11:01 AM	#1
lspichkin Administrator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Hollywood, CA Posts: 175 Images: 88	Rooftop gardens from around the world When space is limited, sometimes a gardener must take to the roof. Around the world resourceful gardeners are turning what would otherwise be an overlooked and underutilized area into a place of beauty and serenity. Plus, you'd be amazed at the amount of fruit and vegetable you can coax out of these small spaces. Photo: pb031 on Flickr This garden is part of a spa/health club complex in the Embarcadero section of San Francisco. When there is limited green space in a downtown area, sometimes you've just got to create it. Photo: gin_e on Flickr A playful and sprawling rooftop garden at the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Ian Muttoo on Flickr This is a sixth floor rooftop garden at St. Luke's International Hospital in Akashi, Tokyo. Photo: Geek2Nurse on Flickr Waking up to this Seattle, Washington garden can make you forget that you actually live in a bustling city! Photo: pbev on Flickr A gorgeous herb garden in Southern California. Looks like they're producing enough in this space to keep the whole neighborhood in herbs. Another beautiful example of carving out some green space in an urban area is the City Hall building in Chicago. Photo: mason.flickr on Flickr In an effort to save energy and funds on cooling costs in the summer, a green roof was installed on the City Hall building in 2000. This private garden now grows thousands of plants in more than 150 species, and saves the city $5000 annually on utility bills! Photo: mindfrieze on Flickr Photo: mindfrieze on Flickr While the garden is not open to the public (except the occasional tour group) it is visible from nearby office buildings. Photo: sves on Flickr The growers of this Senegalese garden produce an income by cultivating several varieties of mint, as well as a host of other edibles. Photo: mollyeh11 on Flickr These London residents turned a drab parking structure into a lovely little gathering place. It does an amazing job of breaking up the monotony of brick and concrete while adding some bursts of color to the surroundings. Photo: Brian J. Geiger on Flickr While this may not be a traditional garden, I couldn't resist including a photo of these trees growing atop an Italian building. It appears to be possible to grow anything on your rooftop! Last edited by smgardener; 12-08-2007 at 01:24 PM.

12-07-2007, 03:57 PM	#2
gbronner Green Gardener Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Crest Hill, Illinois Posts: 19 Blog Entries: 5	What a wonderful example of urban gardening answers. As the grounds supervisor of the oldest chartered hospital in the City Of Chicago I am aware of the surge in rooftop gardening. The Mayors office is totally committed to the efforts. The city is offering $5000.00 grants to Business and now I believe individuals who are willing to plant a green roof. This year we converted a concrete rooftop patio in to a container garden area. I posted about it in my blog you can see the pictures and read about it here. Roof Top Garden Project \| Glenns Garden I will be attending a seminar this January about green roofs and we plan to apply for a grant next year to help further develop our rooftop garden. Great post and wonderful pictures one of the many benefits of this forum. __________________ Please stop by and visit my home page for some of the greatest gardening links resources and articles! http://www.glenns-garden.com Last edited by gbronner; 12-07-2007 at 04:01 PM.

12-11-2007, 07:39 PM	#3
Saturn Green Thumb Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: The Great Abyss Posts: 48	That is so cool. __________________ -l:SATURN:l-

12-25-2007, 07:26 PM	#5
ConsiderThis Green Gardener Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico Posts: 27	I love this thread! When I lived in London there was a building on Goswell Road that always caught my attention in the spring because there were tubs and tubs of daffodils on the narrow balcony... Some years later I ended up renting the flat to which it was connected, and I began to take care of them. It was sooooo great. Sadly I didn't have a very good camera then, and for some reason all my images turned out with a heavy yellow tinge... This doesn't show how far the daffodils extended. Darn! __________________ http://www.health-boundaries-bite.com Your fingernails reflect your health -- Learn some warning signs -- Karen Kline Last edited by ConsiderThis; 12-25-2007 at 07:29 PM.

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12-13-2007, 04:03 PM	#4
karenj Green Gardener Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2	These pictures are amazing. i live in an apartment that has a concrete back patio and these pictures are giving me ideas of how to divide the space and what to plant.

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