"Jane Lumley" wrote in message
...
My house has an extension, with a long, ugly, flat gravel covered roof.
It faces south, and I'd really like to get some pots on it with nice
plants in them, but does anyone know if this would be too much strain
for the roof?

Is there light compost one can buy for roof gardens, and if so what is
it?

I'd be grateful for any advice about roof gardening.

Many thanks in advance,
--
Jane Lumley
Hi Jane,

Just from what I can remember from various TV programs:

1. A normal roof can take quite a bit of weight but it's best to place the
pots around the edge instead of in the middle unless you know where any
internal load-bearing walls line up.

2. Use plastic pots instead of terracota/ceramic as they're much lighter. If
you don't like the look, put large plastic at the back of a group and small
ceramic in front.

3. Fill the bottom of the pots with old expanded polystyrene packaging to
improve drainage and keep down the weight.

4. It'll be windy on the roof so make sure nothing can get blown off. and
maybe tie the pots to the house wall.

5. You can buy large mats of sedum (rock roses) which apparently look very
nice on a roof and would cover it completely if you don't need space to walk
around on the roof as well. They need almost no soil so are quite light and
the weigt is evenly spread.

6. If you don't have easy access then pots are probably not for you as
they'll need regular watering.

7. You say it is covered in gravel so maybe it was originally designed as a
patio area. Maybe you should ask the original builder if it has been
strengthened for use as such?

Hope these comments are some help,

Martin