Garden: Features

Green roofs and living walls

We get an insight into the growing trend for green roofs and living walls from Chris Young, author of Take Chelsea Home.

One of the most significant additions to some of the Chelsea show gardens in recent years has been green roofs and living walls. Both concepts originate from the same premise: that, instead of looking at hard materials such as roof tiles or concrete, why not grow plants on that surface?

Other advantages are also recognised: green roofs help keep buildings cool in summer and warm in winter; they have great aesthetic appeal; wildlife benefits from more plants growing in a given space; and green roofs especially can help with water (rainfall) absorption and, on a large scale, reduce local air temperature in summer. Chelsea designers have really adopted living walls and green roofs, and it is disappointing that planners and architects have not done so more in the public realm. Questions remain about the long-term nature of these plantings, but that shouldn’t put people off.

Greening roofs for great effect

Green roofs can be made at home, maybe on a garden shed or garage. Always check the structural integrity of the building before planting.



This green roof, planted primarily with Sedum species, brings a nice visual treat to the garden and is a great improvement on a building’s usual roof tiles or tarred felt.





No space should be considered too small for making a contribution to greening up the environment. Here a wheelie bin storage cupboard has green vegetation on its roof.

Walls that 'breathe and grow'

Appropriate plant selection and maintenance needs are particularly important considerations when planting up a wall.

Purple-leaved Heuchera is of significant colour value in this living wall, which runs diagonally from the planting bed upwards.



Extract from Take Chelsea Home - Practical Inspiration from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show by Chris Young, £16.99, published by Mitchell Beazley.