Recently Soekershof Walkabout, Private Mazes & Botanical Gardens in South Africa, welcomed two lovely guests from Maryland, USA; Edmund Snodgrass and his wife Lucie.
This couple is the author of the book ‘Green Roof Plants’ (ISBN 978-0-88192-787-0). It includes photographs and cultural information about more than 200 species and cultivars including data about heat tolerance, moisture needs, hardiness and so on.
This practical handbook is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the subject and covers it all; from roof construction and plant selection to soil medium and maintenance.
In combination with solar (photo-voltaïc) energy a roof garden with its insulating qualities can, especially with the South African power outages, contribute to significant less dependence of public electricity supply and less energy use for cooling (in Summer) and heating (in winter).
The book can be ordered in any ordinary bookshop or, online, via Amazon.
The blogsite of Urban Habitats is also a useful source for people who want to know more about roof gardens.
Another useful blog is that of Durban based landscaper Ross Nevette.
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February 12, 2008 at 4:05 am
kate smudges
This sounds like a good book – I’d love to have a roof garden … not that I could now, but you never know!
February 21, 2008 at 10:05 am
byrne millard
How’s this for irony! Earlier today, I was asked to design and quote to establish a roof garden at one of South Africa’s power stations. Thought I best google it to get some info and , low and behold, came across your site, with special reference (in para 4) for my client. Thank You! Best I get da book. Now!