Small green roofs bloom in May and they sure do bring a touch of colour to a roof. If you agree, why not green up the grey of your shed, a garage or an extension and enjoy the sight of wildflowers from your bathroom window.
The ultimate guide to small green roofs
The DIY Green Roof Guide provides the ultimate guide to how you can build your own green roof. Written by Livingroofs’ Dusty Gedge and John Little of Green Roof Shelters, the guide provides you with all the detail you need. As John Little always remarks, it tells you the exact screw size for each stage of the process! First published in 2008 as a downloadable pdf, it is now completely online. This, of course, means it can be regularly updated with new videos, projects and innovations.
As you can see below, even the smallest of green roofs can make a huge impact. The bike shelters at IKEA in Greenwich are a wonder to behold even though they were only created in February this year. The irises are the ultimate wildflowers when small green roofs bloom. And, of course the yellow and blue appropriately mirror the colours of IKEA.
Small green roofs could transform our cities
These bike shelters can be seen from passing buses. Wouldn’t it be transformational if all bus stops looked like this from above? So far, very few bus stops in the UK have been greened up in this way, but other countries around the world are starting to recognise the potential for retrofitting existing bus shelters with green roofs. The ‘Fairmount Line Bus Shelter Living Roof Initiative’ in Boston has already turned three bus shelters into roof-top, green spaces near the Talbot Station and it has plans to transform many more.
Today Livingroofs went to the Eltham Community Hospital in London, specifically to take a picture of a small green roof. It is not quite in bloom, but it soon will be. Last year, we noticed Viper’s bugloss, vetches and poppies flourishing on this bin store green roof.
Wildflowers bloom on small green roofs
Small green roofs are popping up on Twitter too,. This excellent tweet reminds us about how May is the month to see green roofs at their best. Irises are centre-stage here too. This one looks like it may be on a house extension or on a garage.
My #greenroof is 10 years old today – #irises flowering – we made a 150mm subtract mixture of Leca, clay, brick & deadwood. This 3m x 5m is loved by me, my neighbours & wildlife @worldgreenroof @greenroofsuk #urbanliving #sharedgreenspaces pic.twitter.com/ml1zWsPxa6
— Sarah Jones-Morris (@LandsmithAssocs) May 7, 2019
This lovely green roof is in Bristol, but small green roofs make up nearly 8% of all the green roofs in London. So whilst the big boys might have their eye on the larger roofs, many a small roof in a city could make a big difference – not only to the city as a whole but also to the individuals who enjoy them from a window.
If you want to wake up with a view like that, get the Green Roof Guide.
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For all the latest benefits and information on green roofs check out the new #greenroofreport2018