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Ideas for rooftop gardens


15 Rooftop Garden Design Ideas and Tips

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Whether you have a rooftop garden already or you are planning to have one, these

Rooftop Garden Design Ideas will come in handy!

In densely populated urban areas of the cities, having a small rooftop or patio is such a boon! If you want to utilize the space wisely, then take help from these Rooftop Garden Design Ideas!

Here are the best container vegetables for a Rooftop Garden

Rooftop Garden Design Ideas and Tips

We have some great terrace garden design ideas and essential tips that you can use for inspiration on your rooftop.

1. Keep it Open

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A small rooftop looks big if you are not going to fill it with a lot many things. A transparent glass instead of a parapet wall, fences, or railing will be great!

2. Create Some Privacy

houzz

If you have an open terrace, then growing climbing plants for privacy would be a great idea. Clematis, Climbing roses, and English Ivy are some of the best options you have! You can also use a bamboo screen, drapes or set up a wooden frame.

3. Grow Tall Plants and Trees

If you have a large rooftop, you can plant tall trees and shrubs to utilize the space to the fullest. Growing bamboos and grasses is a good combination if you want to make it low maintenance.

4. Create Raised Beds

Creating raised beds adjacent to the roof walls is a good idea. You can add wooden raised beds or ones that are made from metal. If you like, you can also construct concrete raised beds and grow tall shrubs and small trees in them.

Ensure you use a waterproofing membrane and lay a thick barrier that can block roots and prevent damage to the roof. One more idea is to make slightly elevated raised beds from the surface. That way, the roots of the plants may not be able to penetrate.

5. Plant Carefully

When it comes to rooftop garden design, ensure you maintain the diversity in the size of the plants. A few large plants, shrubs, and small trees, ground covers, annuals must be there. Also, buy containers of different sizes, as this will give a great look to your rooftop garden.

6. Add Furniture

Decide in advance what kind of furniture you would like to purchase. Would you like to lounge on the roof terrace or want to have dinner there? You must make a choice in the initial stage. Furniture that fits the style and theme of your roof garden would be more appropriate.

7. Add a Focal Point

Anything can be a focal point that draws attention. A water feature, tall tree, a beautiful arrangement of container plants, or simply a statue would be a great addition to the roof garden.

8. Introduce Lights

It is important that your rooftop garden is well-lit during the evening, especially near the stairwell or door. Moreover, lighting a roof will make it look larger during dusk.

9. Use No More than Three Colors

Always choose one color as an accent shade and one or two more hues that follow. Using several different colors for walls, floor, railings, furniture, or containers can make your rooftop look too busy and cluttered.

A color combined with a neutral color works best. Neutral colors like white, gray, beige, indigo also accentuate the beauty of plants.

10. Utilize the Vertical Space

patio-scapes

Utilize vertical space to add more appeal to your rooftop garden. Hang planters on the walls, use railing planters, and grow a lot of climbers.

11. Nice Floor is Important

Don’t avoid the flooring. Choose a type that fits your budget, suits the climate you live in, and accommodates the theme of the rooftop garden.

12. Play with Colors and Plant Types

Use cool and warm colors in balance to get a beautiful look. On a well-planned urban rooftop garden, everything is possible! Grow trees, shrubs, foliage plants, and annuals for a burst of different shades!

13. Rooftop Sitting Area

A rooftop barbeque, bar, or a mini kitchen along with some plants would be a great place to throw mini parties. You can have a lovely weekend right at your terrace that way!

14. A Mini Pool

A mini pool on the terrace surrounded by lush green tropical plants is a dream for many. If you don’t have a big terrace, then you can make a mini pool and add plants in containers.

15. Become a Rooftop Homesteader

A rooftop is a great place to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, and salads of your choice. Become a rooftop homesteader and grow your own food with ease.

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How to design a rooftop garden |

(Image credit: Fulham Beach / Aralia)

When it comes to roof garden ideas, it’s important to get the right mix of materials and planting for creating a space with year-round interest.

Roof gardens, terraces and balconies provide a great opportunity to enjoy the surrounding views, and with the right small garden ideas you can extend the living space of your home, whatever the size. 

When it comes to gardening, every roof garden has its issues. Strong winds and extreme exposure can desiccate even the toughest plants, while weight restrictions, safety regulations and getting materials to the top of the building all make vertiginous outdoor space among the most challenging sites. 

But with those challenges comes major benefits; the incredible views and breathtaking vistas are just some of the advantages of rooftop and balcony gardens.

Below, you'll find our favorite roof garden ideas – plus tons of design advice and inspiration. 

Incredible roof garden ideas

No matter what size your roof deck is, these garden ideas will help you create an outdoor oasis you'll be happy to retreat to. 

1. Build planters into the deck

(Image credit: Amber Freda)

If your rooftop garden is part of a larger roofdeck overhaul, consider building your planters along the outer edges of your roof. This will offer ample space for layering taller trees for privacy with smaller shrubs and annuals for color. 

If you have dreams of a rooftop kitchen garden or a layered cottage garden, allow two or three feet of depth per planter to create mini garden beds. 

2. Take color cues from the views

(Image credit: ReCover Green Roofs)

This rooftop balcony garden in Boston's historic South End neighborhood incorporates colors from the ivy covered brick rowhouses below, with shades of red, green, and white. A variety of planter heights create visual depth, while also helping to anchor living space.

3. Use arborvitaes for privacy

(Image credit: Amber Freda)

Sometimes, designing a roof garden is just like designing a suburban backyard or ground level courtyard garden. Take privacy hedges, for example. On a city roofdeck, a row of arborvitaes screens the roof area from the eyes of neighbors, while also adding a sense of lushness to the urban landscape.

One thing to note about arborvitaes, however, is that they'll need near-constant watering when they're first planted. For the first 10 days, they require small amounts of water every hour or two to keep the soil continually moist, so make sure your roof is properly equipped to handle the maintenance.

4. Plant ivy near the walls

(Image credit: cb2)

Turn a brick or concrete roof area into a verdant oasis by planting a climbing vine like ivy or a climbing hydrangea alongside walls. It'll take a few years to fill in, but once it does, your roof will take on a secret garden feel that's well worth the wait. 

5. Use small containers for a flexible roof garden

(Image credit: Getty Images - WestEnd61)

A variety of small containers can be a great way to garden on the roof, especially for gardening beginners. For one, it allows you to experiment with what types of plants do well on your roof (and where) because you can move them around to various spots until you find a place where they'll thrive.  

Plus, you'll be able to move your perennials indoors during the winter months, and take advantage of their beauty until the next roofdeck season.  

6. Cope with the elements

(Image credit: Future / Mel Yates)

Wind is a common problem on roof gardens. Many plants can cope with it, but you might need some shelter if you want to enjoy the space all year round.

Unless there is protection from surrounding buildings, solid windbreaks aren’t a good idea as they block out the view, plus the wind stress on fixings is high. 

Instead, choose permeable trelliswork, hit-and-miss cedar battens arranged horizontally, or perforated sailcloth that filters the wind so only a subtle breeze is felt on the leeward (downwind) side. 

Glass is commonly used as a balustrade and wind buffer on roof terraces as it provides uninterrupted views. Don’t site it across prevailing winds unless there are a few holes in it, otherwise turbulence will smack over the top and down on you with great force.  

Most importantly, don’t put yourself at risk by teetering over high edges to fix screening – call in a specialist builder or a rope access company to tackle it for you. 

7. Plant the right evergreens

(Image credit: Future / Hufton + Crow)

Taller, wind-tolerant shrubs are ideal for roof gardens as they offer some protection against strong wind and rain. Think of them as living garden privacy ideas. 

Tough evergreens, such as olearia, phormium, pittosporum and spotted laurel in big tubs are perfect for the job. Bamboo is worth trying too, except on very windswept roof terraces as its large leaves sway too much in the wind, which means the roots will shift about and the plants won’t establish in their new pots. You’ll need protection from sunshine too. 

Shade sails are excellent – again, wind-porous materials are the best choice as you don’t want a solid barrier, with the risk of the fabric tearing or flying away. A cheaper solution is to put up a parasol, but make sure it’s securely anchored, otherwise strong gusts might blow it away.

8. Carefully select your materials

(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton )

Weight is the most important practical consideration when planning roof garden ideas.

With tiny balconies tacked onto the sides of flats or townhouses you won’t need to worry, as they will have been specifically designed to take the weight of a few pots, containers and a bistro dining set. Roof gardens and terraces, however, are a very different matter.

Discovering the load-bearing capacity of a purpose-built roof garden is easy – you simply need to look at the title deeds. 

When it comes to older properties, chances are the space was originally intended to be somewhere to hang out the washing, or access the roof. How much weight it can take is debatable, and it’s likely you won’t find the information on the title deeds.

In order to be certain, consult a structural engineer who will calculate what you can – but more importantly what you can’t do – on an older-style roof garden.  

If weight is an issue, there are obvious things you can do. Plastic planters, along with fibreglass imitations, weigh much less than concrete, stone or terracotta containers. 

Avoid placing pots in the centre of a roof terrace and don’t have too many (fewer containers look better). Fixing pots to surrounding walls or placing them on cantilevered shelves will help as the walls will be taking the weight, not the roof. 

Also, choose lightweight collapsible furniture instead of a huge, glass-topped table.

9. Keep the space safe

(Image credit: Future / Polly Eltes)

Safety is of course paramount in any roof garden ideas, so avoid hanging anything over the edge or placing pots on ledges, unless they’re firmly secured. Do check with your local authority though – some won’t allow you to do this. 

Pergolas, trellis, wirework or shade sails should be fixed securely, with the fixings easily accessible so that they can be tightened regularly. 

The balcony or terrace needs to be in good condition too – by law, the sides must measure at least 1100mm high, so you can’t fall over the edge.

10. Install a green roof

(Image credit: Future / Paul Raeside)

Green roofs, often planted with lightweight sedums, can add a rustic, weathered look to a new-build or outbuilding, as well as offering a safe haven for bees, insects and other wildlife.

First introduced in Berlin in the 1880s to protect bitumen roofs from fire in hot weather, living roofs are now a popular way to add another dimension of green space to a garden, particularly urban gardens and new-builds that aim to blend with the surrounding environment.

According to Simon Walker at Walker Architects: 'A grass roof is an ideal way to integrate a building visually with the  surrounding landscape, creating a rich and vibrant tapestry of color to harmonize with the environment. They add charm, interest and natural appeal, especially to new-builds, and contrast beautifully with weathered wood cladding.’ 

Ask a structural engineer to design your green roof so that the load capacity is taken into consideration. Many existing roof structures, including garden buildings, have not been designed to bear a heavy load, so professional installation is a must.

11. Create a modern meadow 

(Image credit: Aralia)

This eighth floor city roof garden, designed by Aralia 's Alastair Henderson in Hammersmith's Fulham Reach, feels private thanks to the layered planting and carefully placed trees, which can also help make a small garden look bigger.

'A lot of roof terraces can look contemporary but may not really be about the plants themselves,' says Alistair, who took his cue from coastal and Mediterranean plants that can tolerate exposure, as well as owners who were leaving a much-loved garden at their family home across the river in Barnes. 'They were keen to have a space that could evolve over time, attract wildlife and that was abundant with color, scent and atmosphere.'

The main planting included osmanthus hedging, with its rich jasmine-scented flowers in mid-spring, as well as several trees. Amelanchier, small olives and multi-stem heptacodium trees, that flower in fall and are beloved of bees, are among the best trees for a small garden and a rooftop terrace.

Dotted in between are ilex balls, pittosporum and pinusmugo – a tough, slow-growing shrub.

12. Take the first step to self-sustainability 

(Image credit: Getty / Tim Boyle / Staff)

The 20,300 square foot City Hall rooftop in Chicago is certainly a sight to behold. The roof garden has over 20,000 herbaceous plants installed as plugs of more than 150 varieties, including 100 woody shrubs, 40 vines and 2 trees – a Cockspur Hawthorn and Prairie Crabapple, proving that even roof gardens can incorporate small vegetable gardens.

At the time – in 2002 – this was the first rooftop garden of its kind in the US, but it most definitely was not the last. It helped bring forward a new era of urban greening and resiliency efforts in Chicago and other major metropolitan areas, prompting new sustainable small garden ideas and projects in the city.

Unsurprisingly, this garden remains an icon of living architecture in a continually evolving, expanding practice throughout the country. 

13. Draw inspiration from an urban jungle

(Image credit: Future / Alexander Spatari)

The aesthetic of New York's The High Line reflects natural cycles of life and death, and evokes feelings of being in a wild space. According to Piet Oudolf, who designed the gardens, 'my biggest inspiration is nature. I do not want to copy it, but to recreate the emotion'.

While he is mostly know for The High Line, Piet Oudolf has achieved a level of influence and cultural relevance rarely, if ever, attained by, in his own words, a modest plantsman.

The High Line’s planting design is inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew wild for 25 years after the trains stopped running. Wandering through these meadow-style gardens, you’ll find perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees that were chosen for their hardiness, sustainability, and ever-changing textures and colors.

14. Make your roof garden an extension of your home

(Image credit: Future / Graham Atkins-Hughes)

With a little planning, creativity and innovation, it is possible to transform an unused roof space into an area to relax, unwind and entertain.

Borrow from this space's small garden decking ideas, where an intimate outdoor zone has been created using wood panels and soft furnishings for a cozy nook in which to relax. 

The space is visually open, creating a light openness to the terrace that fosters an atmosphere of cool serenity. An outdoor rug and furniture create the boundaries of the garden, all while enhancing that warm, homely feel.

How do you plan a roof garden?

When planning your roof garden, the first thing to do is to identify a design theme. 

Sleek, simple and sophisticated is the golden rule when designing a roof garden. Cottage or rustic themes that you might use in courtyard gardens rarely work so high in the sky. 

Instead, go for a simple, linear layout with contemporary materials, such as polished stone, rendered walls, Cor-Ten steel or concrete, or traditional ones, such as woven hazel and clay pavers, used in a modern way.  

Choose materials to complement patterns or colors in the surrounding landscape or adjacent buildings so the design blends in.

Whatever small garden layout ideas you choose, take account of the view. Eyesores, like gas towers and motorway flyovers, will need to be subtly screened, but if you have a sea view or attractive cityscape, make the most of it in your design. Organize your area to maximise good views, maybe framing them with tall container plants or pencil junipers.

What are the critical elements of a rooftop garden? 

For all roof garden ideas, in addition to a doorway to access the terrace, the floor structure is likely to need upgrading to take foot traffic. A structural engineer can advise on this. 

A balustrade must be erected to a height of 850mm and fixed securely to the floor, walls or both. Popular solutions include masonry walls to match the house, iron railings or toughened glass.

(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton)

The floor surface of any roof garden ideas must be non-slip and suitable for foot traffic. Some flat roof coverings such as bitumen with stone chipping can take traffic, but deck or tiles often look better and protect the roof. 

Decking is ideal, as the firring strips between the deck and roof surface can be cut to level out any slope of the roof. Water must be able to flow over the flat roof and drain away, and an upstand of at least 75mm must be maintained at the door threshold to stop water getting inside.

(Image credit: Future / Brett Charles)

Does a roof terrace need planning permission? 

A change of use to form a terrace or balcony from a roof will need planning permission, unless it has already been established for at least four years, in which case it is lawful to retain it. 

The authority’s main consideration will be the privacy of neighboring properties. The distance it can project to the rear may be restricted, or it may be necessary to build a wall to obscure views to the sides.

Converting a flat roof into a terrace is notifiable under the American State Building Codes, so you must contact your local authority building control department and submit full plans or a building notice application, along with a fee of around $400-$500.

Jennifer is the Digital Editor at Homes & Gardens. Having worked in the interiors industry for a number of years, spanning many publications, she now hones her digital prowess on the 'best interiors website' in the world. Multi-skilled, Jennifer has worked in PR and marketing, and the occasional dabble in the social media, commercial and e-commerce space. Over the years, she has written about every area of the home, from compiling design houses from some of the best interior designers in the world to sourcing celebrity homes, reviewing appliances and even the odd news story or two.

100 photos of beautiful design ideas

Contents:

  1. Pros and cons of a roof garden
  2. Roof garden and its varieties
  3. Creating a roof garden and choosing plants

In today's world, everyone strives to create comfortable living conditions surrounding yourself with something beautiful. Flowers not only attract with their appearance, but also create a special atmosphere, enliven the space. Of course, it is customary to place them in a flower bed near the house, but if you live in an apartment building, then you do not have such an opportunity. Moreover, in small areas, a place for a garden is also not always possible to find, but there is a way out - the arrangement of a garden on the roof. This idea has become so popular that it is used as an original way of landscaping, both in the city and beyond. What types of garden are there, how to create it yourself on the roof of your house? More on this later.

Pros and cons of a roof garden

First of all, it is worth mentioning the negative aspects, because the only disadvantage of a roof garden is the fact that it is extremely difficult to arrange it yourself. In most cases, you have to contact special companies, where experienced builders and architects will help you think over the landscape design correctly, and then bring it to life.

But as for the advantages of a roof garden, it is worth noting here:

Roof garden and its varieties

Depending on the type of roof landscaping, the garden can be:

In the first case, the structure is located on lightweight soil, the thickness of which is no more than 15 centimeters. Such a garden will protect the roof surface from external factors and create an autonomous ecosystem. To create an extensive roof garden, you need to choose unpretentious plants, such as evergreens. It will not be possible to equip a recreation area here, since this method of landscaping is usually used on the roofs of outbuildings, gazebos and small private houses.

The Intensive Garden is a full size garden with walking paths and a seating area. Moreover, it assumes the presence of a fountain and other reservoirs, therefore, it is necessary to create a solid foundation that can withstand the ground cover, the thickness of which is 1.5-2 meters. Of course, such a garden is better suited for apartment buildings and hotels, but it can also be arranged on the roof of a private house. As for the structure of the roof, depending on it, the garden can be:

Creating a roof garden and choosing plants

As mentioned earlier, the technological process of arranging a roof garden is extremely complex and is best left to specialists. Despite this, it is important to know the features of creating a garden so that you can take an active part in ennobling the roof or control the process of its arrangement. Stages of work:

Creating a solid foundation for your roof garden is an important step, but just as important is the choice of plants. To improve the surface, you need to choose unpretentious plants that are quietly adjacent to each other. In addition, on the roof, the plants are in windy and sunny conditions, and the ground is thin and freezes quickly in winter. As a result, the requirements for choosing a plant for a roof garden are as follows:

At the moment, experts identify about 60 types of plants that can be used on the roof. For example, you can use some types of stonecrop, grassy type plants. Exotic plants will not take root here, but deciduous shrubs and dwarf conifers do. You can supplement the space with a small artificial pond, which will create not just a garden, but a real recreation area where you can be alone with nature.

Roof gardens: a new word in modern landscape design

The history of the roof garden goes back to before our era. The first ancient landscape ideas were the hanging gardens of Babylon and the green terraces of Caesar Augustus. The modern history of such landscaping begins in Iceland, where the roofs were covered with earth and planted with grass. The houses of the inhabitants of this island country resembled living corners, on the roofs of which greenery grows freely almost as in natural conditions. The first person to seriously plan gardens of this type was the famous French architect Le Corbusier. Back in the first half of the 20th century, he identified five principles of the new architecture. The second of them was as follows: "The roof garden will be the most beautiful part of the building, and this means the revival of green spaces in big cities." Despite centuries of experience, green roofs began to spread only in the 80s. The twentieth century, when technology and high-quality materials were invented. One of the most interesting and, perhaps, the most famous objects in this direction is the Hundertwasser House in Vienna.

A roof garden is not a luxury, but a means of landscaping

Today, almost everyone can afford to create a green roof. It is no longer a luxury, as it used to be. From an idea to its implementation is just a stone's throw away. The production of materials and the technology of green roofing is very well developed and allows you to create a delightful corner of nature on any roof. There are several types of green roofs:

- extensive green roof

is the simplest green roof option, with a small (6-12 cm) layer of substrate and plants that require minimal maintenance and grow in extreme conditions;

- semi-intensive green roof

is a garden with ground cover plants, herb varieties, perennials and small shrubs. This type of green roof makes it possible to plan a variety of plantings and expands the range of exploitation of the territory;

- intensive green roof

is a type of green roof, which, depending on the thickness of the ceiling of the building, can have a substrate layer of up to two meters, which allows planting not only bushes, but also low-growing trees. This landscaping option is almost endless, it can only be limited by the budget or the lack of new ideas. A lawn, a flower bed, a terrace and even a jacuzzi - all this is quite possible on an intensive type roof.

In today's world, greening flat roofs has become extremely relevant both from an economic and environmental point of view. Why? Here are a few arguments:

✓ The roof garden has a property that is very relevant in our time - it insulates the building in winter and cools it in summer. Additionally reduces physical, chemical and biological stress. New green spaces appear in the settlements, maintaining and improving the ecological background of the territory.
And these are additional opportunities for the conservation of flora and fauna and nature protection in the conditions of a modern city.
✓ Green roofs collect atmospheric precipitation, thereby reducing the load on the sewer, returning it to the natural circulation.
✓ Thanks to green roofs, the area of ​​green spaces is increased in a small area. Such a garden can be created both on the roofs of high-rise buildings, and on terraces or roofs of private houses.
✓ A green roof increases the sound and heat insulation of buildings.
✓ Green rooftops absorb most of the harmful substances found in the urban environment, reducing the impact of urban pollution.

Garden on the third floor

Green roofs are very popular in Europe today. The world has seriously thought about environmental problems, especially in large metropolitan areas. People are constantly looking for ways to increase the area of ​​green spaces in one way or another, improve the environment and save their health.

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