Gardens in the sky
Putting a roof over your head is one thing. Putting a garden or any
sort of greenery on top of that roof is a far more complicated matter,
usually requiring the combined talents of a landscape architect and a
structural engineer.
at http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20040...5418-9844r.htm

On 6/2/04 12:05 PM, in article
, "Mike"
wrote:

Gardens in the sky
Putting a roof over your head is one thing. Putting a garden or any
sort of greenery on top of that roof is a far more complicated matter,
usually requiring the combined talents of a landscape architect and a
structural engineer.
at http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20040...5418-9844r.htm


I've always liked that idea - a garden atop a building - as long as it done
right!
Cheryl

In article says...
On 6/2/04 12:05 PM, in article
, "Mike"
wrote:

Gardens in the sky
Putting a roof over your head is one thing. Putting a garden or any
sort of greenery on top of that roof is a far more complicated matter,
usually requiring the combined talents of a landscape architect and a
structural engineer.
at http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20040...5418-9844r.htm


I've always liked that idea - a garden atop a building - as long as it done
right!

Welcome to my world! :-) Living on the north side of Chicago close to
downtown, I have zero yard, the building is built along the perimeter of
the property line. The only garden I could have is in the parkway and
after that became established, I needed to expand. Three years ago I
build a second story garden on a roof. This required that the "roof" be
reinforced to floor standards (I.e. it has the same strength as an
interior floor). I originally planned to plant a lawn up there but that
seemed too complicated and could cause more issues down the road than it
was worth in cost. Instead, I built 2 large plant boxes for wildflowers
and then individual containers for everything else. Not having a lot of
space, efficiency is everything. Coated plywood lined milk crates became
my choice for containers because they're square and they fit together
neatly. Anyway, to get a picture of it, I started a 2004 album at:

http://www.brandylion.com/gallery/garden_2004

This year I stopped growing tomatoes because they take up too much space
and get ugly when they mature and will cram in a lot more containers and
vines.

The 2003 album can be seen at:

http://www.brandylion.com/gallery/garden_2003

I'm thinking maybe next year of expanding to the main roof which would be
a third story garden. The problem is re-inforcing a roof to handle the
heavy load from the planters and doing it on the sly so I don't have to
deal with the Department of Buildings who haven't a clue about anything
that doesn't fit into one of their cookie cutter designs.

On 6/3/04 2:30 PM, in article
, "Mark Anderson"
wrote:

In article says...
On 6/2/04 12:05 PM, in article
, "Mike"
wrote:

Gardens in the sky
Putting a roof over your head is one thing. Putting a garden or any
sort of greenery on top of that roof is a far more complicated matter,
usually requiring the combined talents of a landscape architect and a
structural engineer.
at http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20040...5418-9844r.htm


I've always liked that idea - a garden atop a building - as long as it done
right!

Welcome to my world! :-) Living on the north side of Chicago close to
downtown, I have zero yard, the building is built along the perimeter of
the property line. The only garden I could have is in the parkway and
after that became established, I needed to expand. Three years ago I
build a second story garden on a roof. This required that the "roof" be
reinforced to floor standards (I.e. it has the same strength as an
interior floor). I originally planned to plant a lawn up there but that
seemed too complicated and could cause more issues down the road than it
was worth in cost. Instead, I built 2 large plant boxes for wildflowers
and then individual containers for everything else. Not having a lot of
space, efficiency is everything. Coated plywood lined milk crates became
my choice for containers because they're square and they fit together
neatly. Anyway, to get a picture of it, I started a 2004 album at:

http://www.brandylion.com/gallery/garden_2004

This year I stopped growing tomatoes because they take up too much space
and get ugly when they mature and will cram in a lot more containers and
vines.

The 2003 album can be seen at:

http://www.brandylion.com/gallery/garden_2003

I'm thinking maybe next year of expanding to the main roof which would be
a third story garden. The problem is re-inforcing a roof to handle the
heavy load from the planters and doing it on the sly so I don't have to
deal with the Department of Buildings who haven't a clue about anything
that doesn't fit into one of their cookie cutter designs.




Color me duly impressed!

Cheryl