6 Easy Steps To Build a Rooftop Garden in 2023

Have you ever considered turning your rooftop into a garden? Is there any human being who doesn’t love to live in the utmost beauty of nature? So, nothing can be a better option than a rooftop garden to live within the fresh air in this era of industrialization.

Do not worry, today we will discuss how to build a rooftop garden in 6 easy steps.

What is a rooftop garden?

A rooftop garden is often called a roof garden. So this kind of garden is mainly, a layer of greenery growing over a substrate across a flat or sloping roof surface. The substrate layer contains drainage and landscaping materials and under this is a protective waterproof membrane, which acts as a barrier to prevent water seepage from above.

A rooftop garden provides a variety of benefits that includes-

• It provides shelter from temperature variations and decrease the need for heating, cooling and helps reducing power costs.
• It will give the plant scope to grow and amplify the bio-diversity of suburban areas.
• It ameliorates general air quality by confining allergens.

Besides gardening can be a great way to relax and free your mind from the numbing pressures of screening. Even a tiny roof can be converted into a splendid garden.  So, let’s talk about the things we need for an ideal rooftop garden.

1) Getting Approval

The first contemplation is the place where you live. As if you are chartering or living in a building complex run by a body commercial, you will need to get permission to build your roof garden. The exurbia you live in may also be issued to building regulations and council boundaries, which you will need to find out about earlier.

Consider the weight and the strength of your roof:

The weight of your roof garden is another main aspect of the equation. Keep in your consideration that, even a narrow garden bed can weigh as much as 60 kilograms per square meter. So, it is vital to have a qualified professional such as a builder or physical engineer check the weight measurements of your roof before you try to build a rooftop garden. A grass roof entails a strong building to support it. As a rule of skim, we always mention that the more biodiversity you want on a roof, the deeper the layer of the growing medium needs to be, and therefore the heavier it will be.  

2) Designing the garden

Expecting, the boxes have been marked with esteem to structural probity and building permission, the next step is to design your rooftop garden. Just like a normal garden, you will need to consider a range of factors when designing the layout, including:

Keep it open

A small rooftop if kept open looks big. Consider, for example, transparent glass in its place of a parapet wall; fences, railing or even you can create a windbreak around the border. However, if you are concerned about privacy and would like to hunk the constantly nosey eyes of the neighbors, avoid this tip.

Shade

Your rooftop garden is relatively prospective to be visible to full sunlight for a lot of the day. So, consider where you will put shading for those plants that need it and also for yourself. Heat not only comes from the sun but is also emitted by the roof itself and surrounding buildings, so position your shade breaks sensibly.

3) Grow tall plants and trees

If you have a big rooftop or have a bad view from there or if you want to get a real garden like feel do little high vegetation around the walls to maximize greenery and restrain yourself from the rest of the city. Growing bamboos and grasses is a good combination if you want to make it low maintenance, otherwise, your options are unlimited, grow bushes and trees.

4) Plant carefully

For designing your garden attractively, ensure to maintain the diversity in the size of the plants.  A few large plants, shrubs, and small trees, ground covers, annuals must be there. You should consider buying containers of different sizes this will give a great appearance to your rooftop garden.

Choose ornamental trees and shrub

You should buy small, ornamental trees and shrubs for your rooftop garden. They do well when protected with windbreakers and placed in steady containers. Add 2 to 4 trees or shrubs at most to conserve space. 

• Trimming your trees’ roots every few years will keep them at a handy size.
• Few examples of ornamental trees and shrubs include Dogwood, Japanese Lilac Tree, Crabapple, Star Magnolia, and Jack Dwarf Flowering Pear. 

5) Add a focal point

Add a focal point in your rooftop garden. Anything can be a focal point that will be catchy in the eyes of any visitor that come to your house. You can place fountain water surrounded by a beautiful arrangement of container plants. 

We hope that by now you have got some great designing ideas for your garden. But wait there every necessity hasn’t been met yet! Here are more things you need:

Wind

A roof can be a visible area in adverse weather conditions, so try and subsume windbreaks into your shade layout as well. Windbreaks such as frames and fences that disturb the flow of wind moderately than stopping it completely will be more effective, as solid windbreaks are more likely to be knocked over in strong winds.

6) Waterproofing

As mentioned previously, active waterproofing is a vital component of any rooftop garden. While some roofs are waterproofed when they are built, most need some form of treatment to prevent water from leaking into the building below.

The treatment used must provide a strong protective layer that is also workable enough to allow extension under physical or thermal movements of the structure, without conceding water-tightness.

Drainage

Assuming that you’re done with the waterproofing part, let us tell you that all those water needs to go somewhere.  So, make sure you have suitable drainage to allow excess water to run off. This water should run off to your gutter and remain reusable for later.

Final Words

Now when you’re done with all of the above activities, get out there and get gardening. Remember this, futzing around with plants in the sun helps us recouple with the grandeur of the natural world that we’ve become increasingly deprived of.

Even though a man’s at odds to know his mind because his mind is aught he has to know it with, as long as you’re gardening you won’t need to trouble yourself with all that. Just stand among the screaming leaves and call down the lightning, and know that the time has come for you to reap.

A special thanks to gardeningknowhow