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Three Types of Roof Gardens
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Roof gardens are built for both their aesthetic and their functional values. A roof garden can provide temperature control, architectural enhancement, hydrological benefits, and of course food. It can also serve as a habitat for wildlife. There are a number of advantages when you plant a roof garden. On a hot day, for instance, the garden can cool the room beneath it. In the winter it can provide insulation from the cold. In Germany occupants are required to install roof gardens to retain water from evaporating. It will prevent flash floods from occurring. Three basic types of roof gardens exist. They differ according to the maintenance they require, the type of plants the roof will support and the depth of the soil.
Extensive Roof Garden
Because it uses shallow soil, this is the easiest type of roof garden to maintain. Extensive roof gardens, which are lightweight, can easily be installed on small extensions of the home like garages and sheds. While these typese of roof gardens are easy to maintain, they are limited in the number of plants you can grow on it and have less aesthetic value than their counterparts. Lichens and mosses can be easily grown in an extensive roof garden. Lichens are symbiotic organisms that can colonize on surfaces such as glass, metal and plastic. Small green plants like mosses do not require huge amounts of nutrients to survive. As such, rainwater alone is sufficient for these plants, which cling to walls and stones.
Semi-Extensive Roof Garden
These roof gardens, which have deeper soil, are capable of supporting a greater variety of plants. Unlike extensive roof gardens, these can be more easily decorated. The soil is heavier in a semi-extensive roof garden, and requires a stronger structure in order to support it. Succulents that store water in their tissue, sedums are a good choice for this type of garden. Although they can die or turn patchy during times of drought without proper care, sedums do not require watering every day. Because they require little maintenance, wildflowers are also ideal for a semi-extensive roof garden.
Intensive Roof Garden
Because they can support elaborate arrangements as well as trees, intensive roof gardens require large, sturdy structures, Single-home dwellings are usually not suitable for intensive roof gardens, which is why they are more often found on concrete buildings on the tops of roof decks. The intensive roof garden has no limitations regarding what you can plant in it as long as the building’s structure is capable of supporting the weight.
About the author: Megan Barlow helps others learn how to live greener and more eco-friendly lives. Learn more about green living at her blog on Environmentally Friendly and Green Gadgets.
Source: 3 Roof Garden Variations.
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