Creating extensive green roofs in hot dry climate's such as the Mediterranean are still in their infancy. There are a few in Greece , Italy and Spain but all too often approaches to green roofs are usually those that are more appropriate to more temperate Northern climes.
This small green roof that sits atop a wood shed about six kilometres north of Saintes Maries de la Mer in the Camargue is an 'experiment' to see what grows on about 100mm of substrate in an area that be very arid and lacking in rainfall during the summer. The design of the substrate has been varied and uses locally sourced materials, including 'reeds' as a drainage layer in parts of the roof.
Plants have been selected and planted into substrate as small plugs. What is noticable about the roof is that it is not completely 'green'. The planting has left alot of substrate bare to allow for other plants to colonise and to create a rocky garden effect.
Plant Species on a Camargue Green Roof
|
Ajania pacifica |
|
Arabis caucasica Corbeille d'argent vivace |
|
Aster tripolium L. Aster maritime, Sea Aster |
|
Astericus maritimus Astérisque maritime, Sea Daisy |
|
Borago officinalis Bourrache, Borage |
|
Calendula officinalis Souci, Pot marigold |
|
Cardamine hirsuta Cardamine hérissée, Hairy Bittercress |
|
Diplotaxis erucoides Diplotaxis fausse Roquette, White Wall Rocket |
|
Dorotheanthus bellidiformis Ficoïde, Livingstone Daisy |
|
Erysimum cheiri Giroflée, Aegean wallflower |
|
Euphorbia helioscopia Euphorbe réveille-matin, Sun Spurge |
|
Fumaria officinalis Fumeterre, Common Fumitory |
|
Gazania Gazania |
|
Geranium molle Géranium à feuilles molles, Dovesfoot Cranesbill |
|
Glaucium flavum Glaucienne jaune ou Pavot cornu, Corn Popp |
|
Lagurus ovatus Lagure ovale ou Queue-de-lièvre, Hare's-tail grass |
|
Lamium sp Lamier, Deadnettle |
|
Lamium purpureum Lamier pourpre, Red Deadnettle |
|
Lampranthus coccineus Ficoïde rouge |
|
Lampranthus serpens Ficoide jaune |
|
Leontondon autumnalis Liondent d'automne, Hawkeye |
|
Lewisia cotyledon Lewisia, Siskiyou lewisia or Cliff maids |
|
Limonium vulgare Saladelle, Common sea-lavender |
|
Lobularia maritima Alysse, Sweet Alyssum |
|
Melissa officinalis Mélisse, Lemon balm |
|
Mentha x piperita Menthe poivrée, Peppermint |
|
Muscari neglectum Muscari à grappe, Grape-Hyacinth |
|
Narcissus Narcisse |
|
Origanum majorana Marjolaine, Marjoram |
|
Origanum vulgare Origan, Oregano |
|
Ornithogalum umbellatum Star of Bethlehem |
|
Papaver rhoeas Coquelicot, Poppy |
|
Plantago coronopus Plantain corne de cerf, Buck's horn plantain |
|
Plantago lanceolata Plantain lancéolé, Ribwort plantain |
|
Portulaca oleracea Pourpier commun, Common Purslane |
|
Reseda phyteuma Réséda Raiponce |
|
Rosmarinus officinalis Romarin, Rosemary |
|
Scabiosa Sabieuse, Scabious |
|
Suaeda Soude, Seepweeds |
|
Trifolium repens Trefle blanc, White clover |
|
Trifolium pratense Trefle des prés, Red Clover |
|
Urtica urens Petite Ortie, Dwarf Nettle |
|
Veronica chamaedrys Véronique petit-chêne, Germander Speedwell |
|
Viola tricolor Pensée sauvage, Heartsease |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sedum album |
|
Sedum reflexum |
|
Sedum sieboldii |
|
Sedum spathulifolium Cape Blanco |
|
Sedum spathulifolium Purpureum |
|
Sedum spectabile |
|
Sedum spurium |
|
Sempervivum Joubarbe |
There is more information on the plants at Seeds For Green Roofs.
The main plants on the roof are Mediterranean in origin and grow wild in the surrounding area, like for example Sea lavender (Limonium vulgare), Sun spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia), Aegean wallflower (Erysimum cheiri), White wall rocket (Diplotaxis erucoides) or Sea aster (Aster tripolium). However a few 'exotics' have also been selected that are commonly used in gardens in the south of France, which are well adapted to drought and are not deemed to be invasive. These include Gazania, Siskiou lewisia (Lewisia cotyledon) or Lampranthus coccineus + serpens.
The roof was constructed following our e-guide and joins a a family of roofs designed in a similar way across the world. There are roofs that have been constructed using the guide in as far afield as the Andes, Montreal and in Australia, as well as across the UK.
@Pescalune whose roof it is, plans to build several more such small roofs, using different local materials for substrates and try out further plants over the coming year (s).
More often than not it is these small-scale roofs that set the tone for what can be achieved at a local level, whilst large-scale green roofs nearly always rely on homogenous off the shelf system that all too often do not relate to the local biome and vegetation characteristics.
