Bed with a view: This is how you can plant plants on your roof

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There is a trend towards greening flat roofs as it helps the climate, especially the urban climate. Urban areas where a lot of concrete heats up in the summer – in terms of climate change, this probably won’t get any better in the future.

Plants cool and humidify the air by first storing the water and then allowing it to evaporate. They also filter pollutants and dust particles from the air.

“You’re giving animals back some of the habitat you took from them,” says Blick horticulturalist Scarlet Allenspach (35). Butterflies, bees, caterpillars and birds are very happy with it. Researchers were even able to find conservation-related insect species on green roofs.

The foliage also insulates and cools the building and protects the roof from UV radiation and strong temperature fluctuations.

Green flat roofs around buildings allow the sewage system to drain in heavy rain.

In some Swiss cantons, green flat roofs are now mandatory, at least on new buildings.

Cities and construction companies recommend that large-scale green roofs should be professionally planned. Scarlet Allenspach explains that you can green your roof—ideally a flat roof—but without the company of a gardener, depending on the size.

In any case, it is worth clarifying the following questions: How much additional load can the roof withstand? How can planting be combined with a possible solar system? What legal bases should be considered? How to prepare the roof for planting?

Once the first basic questions have been clarified, it’s time to get down to business. The substrate layer is the layer where vegetation grows.

It should be thick enough to retain enough moisture for the plants. “Depending on what you want to plant, you need less or more substrate,” says Scarlet Allenspach.

The following applies to the plants themselves: Ideally, they should be able to withstand heat, cold, drought and humidity. “I recommend local varieties and herbs that grow well in poor soil, such as wildflowers,” says our horticulturalist.

Scarlet Allenspach’s favorite: Sedum, a genus called succulent plants. “It gives a beautiful color when grown – orange, red.”

Mediterranean herbs are also suitable: thyme, rosemary, lavender. “If you have a little more substrate, you can build little hills out of it and plant them there.”

Specially prepared seed mixes for roof gardens are also recommended.

The more diverse the roof is planted, the greater the diversity of species beyond plants. Because more different plants means more food for more animals.

If you want to please insects and birds, you can tie a birdhouse and work with thick branches, gravel, sand and piles of stones. The latter is popular with wild bees as a shelter. “Branches and piles of trees should be well fixed because of the wind,” the expert adds.

She recommends creating a roof garden when it rains heavily in the spring. “You should also regularly water the plants that were planted fresh at the beginning. Until it really starts growing.” After that, the roof garden is easy to maintain.

Stadtgärtnerei Basel recommends checking the roof area and technical systems once a year.

And if the roof or budget doesn’t support professional and large-scale greening, plants in smaller containers such as pots, gutters or raised beds also help improve the microclimate.

Source : Blick