Wildflowers are great for planting on green roofs. In fact. as this video suggests, looking at natural wind-blown habitats can provide a great guide to the right kind of plants to add to a green roof planting list.
Conventional Green roof Planting Templates
Conventional green roof planting templates risk being limited to succulents like sedums. This is because the green roof industry has had to respond to a construction world that by its very nature tends to require homogeneity. Many of the original green roofs in Germany were a mix of sedums and wildflowers. These early green roofs were not specified ‘products’ but evolved on sand-covered roofs over time.
Wildflowers in Coastal Habitats – Dungeness
Many plants that thrive in coastal locations are perfect for green roofs. Wind is a great desiccator on a roof. All over the world, many flowering species have adapted to survive in these tough conditions. So we should be bolder – break the mould of the conventional approach and look beyond a product driven view of vegetation on buildings. Delivering biodiversity on roofs is all about creating dry meadows that are more than a simple arrangement of sedums. Diversity is best. So looking around a harsh environment like Dungeness for what would be good on a green roof is a good starting point.
This video was created for Green Roof Training Limited – a sponsor of Livingroofs.org – an online guide to how to build a small green roof on a garage, shed, extension or small outhouse.