Roof gardens blooming in hot cities.

During the hot summer months a busy city can become unbearably hot. The concrete and tarmac just seem to bounce back the suns rays and the air temperature can be considerably hotter than in the countryside. You see people start to flock to the parks and fountains, the ice creams come out along with the frisbees and generally the whole pace of life starts to slow down.

So if you live in the city but want somewhere private to cool down what are the options?

Well you could build your own roof garden as a starter. The following comes from artificial lawn blog which rather neatly summarises it as follows.

Although there are examples from the earlier part of the 20th century, it was not until the 1960’s that the use of roof gardens began to literally grow upwards. As well as having an amenity value, a roof garden offers substantial environmental benefits - for instance:

1. It can lower the temperature above a building, often substantially. Basically a city can raise the atmospheric temperature by reflecting sunlight - a phenomenon sometimes referred to as 'the urban heat island effect'. Having a green roof helps counteract this.
   
   
2. Insulation - a roof garden can help keep a building cool in summer and warm in winter, so fuel bills are reduced.
   
   
3. Wildlife - even on high rise apartment blocks a green garden can provide a stopover for tired birds and attract insects with plants.

So you can see that not only can you keep cool but you can also help the environment and wildlife.

The article goes on to describe 2 ways to prepare a roof garden

The “Heavyweight” Route
This involves layers of waterproof membrane, constructing drainage channels if needed and then laying natural turf over the top. Of course, you could venture into hydroponics to try and minimise the weight and there are special soil mixtures available to help but basically you are looking at a lot of weight , a lot of installation work and possibly even strengthening the roof.

and

The "Lightweight" Route
Use planter pots, tubs and bedding to carry your plants and lay synthetic grass. This way you will have less maintenance and the whole project will be easier to construct. Not only that, but all the worries about how you compost grass cuttings 10 stories up won't even cross your mind!

So next time you are in the City wondering how to keep cool, look up and see the roof gardens above your head!

Find more ideas on landscaping and gardens visit Outdoor Landscaping Ideas