MamasHealth.com Home Gardening Tips Aphids Avoid pests Beneficial bugs Clean houseplants Climbing hydrangea Coffee grounds Community supported agriculture Composting Container gardens Design a vegetable garden Egg shells Finding healthy plants Fresh flowers Flowering bulbs Food not lawns Freedom gardens Garden soil Garden tools Get rid of scale bugs Greenhouse Grow seeds indoors Growing begonias Growing garlic Growing organic veggies Growing tomatoes How to buy a tree Importance of trees Landscape shading Long grass Mulch Potatoes Prevent frost damage Prepare vegetable bed Prevent tree fungus Prevent weeds Prune boxwoods Rainwater collection Reduce garden injuries Rooftop gardens Seed balls Saving seeds Tips for tree growth Transplanting from pots Tree structure Venus fly traps Watering tips Watering your garden Links Email Mama Attract Hummingbirds Tips to Attract Butterflies Green living Tips to save the earth Unique recycled gifts Food not bombs Buy green energy Green energy Reuse carbon dioxide	Rooftop Gardens What is a Green Roof? Green Roofs are plantings that are placed on the roof of a building. Green Roof technology is not new. Rooftop gardens are very popular in Germany. Between 1989 and 1999, German roofing companies installed nearly 350 million square feet of green roofs. Rooftop gardens are most easily used on flat roofs. However, if designed correctly, a rooftop garden can be placed on a low pitch roof. Green roofs are also called rooftop gardens. Planning a rooftop garden In order to build a rooftop garden, you will need to take into consideration the size of your roof and plant selection available in your area. Ideal plants for rooftop gardens with a few inches of depth are plants that are drought tolerant, such as low growing grasses, sedums, and catcus-like plants. If the depth of the rooftop garden is several feet, shrubs and small trees can be used. In most cases, it is best to hire a professional to build the rooftop garden for you. A professional should be able to work with different roofing systems, soil mixes, manufacturers & designers, and climates. Extensive green roof vs Intensive green roof An extensive green roof has low lying plants designed to provide maximum groundcover, water retention, erosion resistance, and respirative transpiration of moisture.  Extensive green roofs usually use plants with foliage from 2 to 6 inches and from 2 to 4 inches of soil. Extensive green roof plants should have most of the characteristics listed below: Low growth height Rapid growth / spreading High drought tolerance Fibrous root as opposed to tap roots to protect roofing membranes No special irrigation or nutritional requirements Low maintenance - trimming, weeding, feeding Plants shouldn't generate airborne seeds in order to prevent the green roof plants invading other landscaping. An intensive green roof is intended to be more of a natural landscape, installed on a rooftop.  Intensive green roofs may use plants with foliage from 1 to 15 feet and may require several feet of soil depth. Benefits of a Green Roof? There are several benefits of growing a rooftop garden. Some of the most common benefits are: aesthetically pleasing reduce city "heat island" effect reduce carbon dioxide impact reduce summer air conditioning cost reduce winter heat demand lengthen roof life by two to three times remove nitrogen pollution in rain neutralize acid rain effect reduces noise reduce storm water runoff provides songbird habitat	Your product featured on MamasHealth.com Sign up for our Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust
	Hot Topics: Domestic Violence: A pre-existing condition? Serena: The wanna be vegetarian Personal Story: How I recovered from my Eating Disorder Mama wants to help: Food Bank programs and shelter assistance Lucy Goes Green: Talk dirty to me How to avoid Swine Flu What no one will tell you about tummy tuck surgery Mama's favorite item of the week: Trees for the Future Foods for weight loss Win a Gift Bag filled with Goodies from Stonyfield
	Information obtained from MamasHealth.com™ should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner, nor should it be inferred as such. Always check with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about a specific condition. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use. Contact us: PO Box 2170, Pasadena, CA 91102-2170 ©2000 - 2009 MamasHealth, Inc.™. All rights reserved