Designing and building your rooftop garden
As urban spaces continue to expand, people are in a continuous search for green spaces that can offer them the solace of nature. However, since it’s not feasible for most individuals to take daily trips to natural spots, the solution lies in a simple place that can be easily incorporated to many homes: the garden. However, here too there may be challenges. For example, you may find yourself constrained by a small space and feel like an extremely tiny garden is unrewarding. The solution lies in a design choice that may have sounded incredibly futuristic not long ago. We’re talking about the rooftop garden.
While it may not be the first choice you have in mind, a garden on the roof offers all the benefits of a backyard ensemble, with the added bonus of a stellar view. So, if you’d like to have your own private retreat away from the bustling city, a cool shelter during the summer months, as well as a place to grow your own fresh veggies and herbs, you can have it all rolled into one by building this elevated garden.
Check up your roof
Before you start building, you need to make sure that your roof can sustain the weight of a garden bed. Depending on the strength of the construction, you will have a choice between a lightweight design, meaning that you’ll mainly use the garden to grow plants, or a recreational space that can accommodate deeper plots, an irrigation system, and maybe some items such as outdoor furniture and a barbeque grill.
However, if you’d like a more extensive garden but the current roof doesn’t allow for it, you can always arrange for some prior alteration or reinforcement work to cope with the additional weight.
Pro help
No matter what kind of project you’re going to undertake, you should always consult with a specialist before getting started. This is no less important in the case of designing your rooftop garden. You should pick someone with substantial expertise in contemporary landscape architecture that knows how to get a natural ensemble to fit well in the overarching bylandskap.
When building takhager there are several aspects to take into account such as getting enough shade, making sure your privacy is protected, waterproofing and protection from the elements, as well as irrigation and storage space. It can also help having a look at other grønne tak to get some inspiration on how you could arrange yours. For example, if space is not an issue, you can arrange a food forest or beehives. Looking around at the way other gardens were designed also helps you get a clearer picture of the ways in which your own space can contribute to enhancing biodiversity.
Choose greenery
Not all plants lend themselves well to all environments. Therefore, you need to do some research before choosing the ones you’ll grow. The greenery you choose should be hardy and resilient and ideally not require a huge amount of water to thrive. However, if you’re planning on designing a garden that’ll serve mainly as a place to cultivate veggies, you might want to consider adding a fountain to the design to make watering an easier process.
Creating a roof garden can be challenging, but if you’ve set your sights on it, don’t be deterred. It’s going to be very rewarding to see the final result.