A roof garden is any garden on the roof of a building. A garden is a planned space usually outdoors set aside for the display cultivation and enjoyment of Plants and other forms of Nature. Vietnam roofjpg|thumb|The roofs of Vietnam.]] A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a Building. In Architecture, Construction, Engineering and real estate development the word building may refer to one of the following Any man-made
Humans have grown plants atop structures since antiquity. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, architectural enhancement, and recreational opportunities. Available gardening areas in cities are often seriously lacking, which is likely the key impetus for many roof gardens. The garden may be on the roof of an autonomous building which takes care of its own water and waste. An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructural support services such as the Electric power grid municipal water systems Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. WASTE is a Peer-to-peer and Friend-to-friend protocol and software application developed by Justin Frankel at Nullsoft in 2003 that features Hydroponics and other alternative methods can expand the possibilities of roof top gardening by reducing, for example, the need for soil or its tremendous weight. Hydroponics (from the Greek words hydro (water and ponos (labour is a method of growing Plants using mineral Nutrient solutions without Plantings in containers are used extensively in roof top gardens. One high-profile example of a building with a roof garden is Chicago City Hall. Chicago City Hall is the official seat of government of the City of Chicago in Illinois.
For those who live in small apartments with little space, square foot gardening, or (when even less space is available) living walls (vertical gardening) are wonderful solutions. Square Foot Gardening is the name of a book by Mel Bartholomew and the associated method which he has helped popularize A green wall is a wall either free-standing or part of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and in some cases soil or an inorganic growing medium These use much less space than traditional gardening (square foot gardening uses 20% of the space of conventional rows; ten times more produce can be generated from vertical gardens). These also encourage environmentally responsible practices, eliminating tilling, reducing or eliminating pesticides, and weeding, and encouraging the recycling of wastes through compost. A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest. Compost (ˈkɒmpɒst or US /ˈkɒmpoʊst/ also known as brown manure is the aerobically decomposed remnants of Organic matter. In small apartments, a Bokashi compost system is more practical than conventional composting. Bokashi (Japanese for "fermented organic matter" is a method of intensive Composting.
The related idea of a living machine is based on the most basic mode of gardening: dumping wastes (compost and sewage, appropriately broken down, usually in some specialized ditch or container) on the soil, and harvesting food which, when processed, generates compost, and when eaten, generates sewage. Living Machines are a form of biological Wastewater treatment designed to mimic the cleansing functions of Wetlands. Compost (ˈkɒmpɒst or US /ˈkɒmpoʊst/ also known as brown manure is the aerobically decomposed remnants of Organic matter. Sewage is the mainly liquid Waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water Feces, Urine, laundry waste and other Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an In most of the world, this kind of very tight closed loop gardening is used, despite certain health risks if necessary precautions are not taken. Compost including human or pet waste should reach thermophilic conditions and age for at least a year before being used. Manure from vegetarian animals is safe without these measures.
Composting itself is a safe process which, when composed of a variety of different materials, is one of the best forms of fertilization available.
See also
- Green roof
- Living wall
- Kensington Roof Gardens
- Urban agriculture
- List of gardening topics
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- Ralph Hancock, Designer of The Rockefeller Center Roof Gardens
External links
- Greenhouse in the Sky
- Website with pictures of roof gardens in London
- Ralph Hancock website
- The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (A Non-Profit Group Devoted to Green Roofs)
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