Our cities’ environmental conditions are deteriorating by the minute. Unfortunately, greenery must be cleared to make room for concrete structures. Now that we are running short on enough green spaces, cities and towns will find it difficult to mitigate the urban heat and cut back on harmful greenhouse emissions.
Newer generations of landscapers, planners, and urban designers in Singapore and across the world are developing ways to maintain the highest level of environmental quality in response to the need to offset the negative effects of urban development. One solution they propose is to build garden areas or rooftop gardens throughout Singapore.
Rooftop gardens offer a number of environmental advantages. But nobody ever discusses how we humans can gain from them. Indeed, they provide a tranquil, safe green haven where one may unwind and get away from the city, which lowers stress and enhances mental health.
Rooftop gardens are artificially created green spaces with the highest quality of construction and eco-friendly design located on the building rooftops. These lush areas, which are filled with a variety of plants and shrubs, add to the building’s appeal. Gardens on residential roofs have been popular for a while. It’s comparable to gardening on top of a mountain. You do it on top of a roof.
The weather on your roof should be considered while choosing the flora for your rooftop garden. Several of the following plant species could flourish on your rooftop:
Drought-tolerating plants: To ensure the success of many rooftop gardens subject to wind and sun, regular, deep watering is necessary. If you cannot construct a rain bucket or sprinkler system and you are fed up with carrying water buckets up to your plants every day, getting drought tolerant plants is an excellent idea. Drought-tolerant plants, such as desert succulents, sage, butterfly weeds, and green shrubs, can make your rooftop garden easy to maintain and simpler to manage.
Shade-loving plants: Shadow-tolerant plants are a fantastic choice if nearby structures or trees shelter your roof for most of the day. Hostas and lettuce are two common plants that thrive in partial sunlight.
Sun-inclining plants: These plants are the most sensible choice because many roofs receive full sun (at least six hours of direct sunshine each day). If your roof receives a lot of sunlight, consider full-sun plants like tomato plants and strawberries; tiny trees like Japanese maple trees; and flowers like wildflowers and marigolds.
Wind-tolerating plants: Because there are no other structures or trees to block the wind, many roofs encounter more wind than ground-level gardens do. Consider low-growing groundcovers and shrubs like decorative grasses, honeysuckle, hydrangeas, and bushes if your roof experiences a lot of wind.
To prevent plants from being blown over by strong winds on rooftops, landscapers recommend choosing plants that are bottom-heavy rather than top-heavy. Therefore, weeping and multi-stem trees, as well as the majority of evergreens, are decent choices for rooftop gardens.
It is further suggested to stay away from plants like elephant ears that have huge leaves because they have a tendency to be readily torn by the wind. Finally, to assist you in deciding whether to choose plants for full to part sun or largely shade, we advise measuring the total number of sunlight hours the area receives each day.
Need beautiful landscaping for your space with the finest plants? Prince’s Landscape Pte Ltd can be your one-stop solution.