Our Enviro-Turf on the roof of a garage under construction in the Vancouver area Photo courtesy Bruce Hemstock, New Westminster BC PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc.

Major benefits include:

• storm water retention
• provides insulation
• provides cooling
• cleans the air
• saves energy
• sound absorption
• food production
• provides a wildlife habitat
• looks nice
• can be a place for urbanites to grow food

Bluestem Nursery predicts that by the turn of the next century, most roofs of the world will have plants growing on them. Switzerland requires that all new buildings have a green roof.

More Information

We are not experts on the subject of green roofs (we merely grow the plants). However in the past few years the amount and quality of information available on the Internet has grown considerably, so we provide here a number of links where you can find information. Please research these sites and/or contact them for further info regarding a green roof:

• Green Roofs.com - a portal for green roof information
• Centre for the Advancement of Green Roof Technology - BCIT, Vancouver, BC, Canada
• Roofscapes - interesting information on the benefits of green roofs
• Eco-Geeks - Great pictures!
• Center for Green Roof Research - Penn State University, Pennsylvania, USA
• FAQ's - many questions answered
• Pictures of a green roof being constructed - Vancouver, BC, Canada
• Great Lakes Institute - a green roof project in Wisconsin
• Design Guidelines for Green Roofs - a Canadian guide, written by architects
• Green Living Technologies - lots of pictures
• 6 Things You Need to Know About Green Walls - by Ron Sharp at Sharp & Diamond
• Impact Lab - wonderful pictures of 10 living walls
• G-Sky - benefits of green roofs and walls

	Jim recommends these 2 books: Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls and Green Roof Plants. A number of our grasses have a shallow root system which makes them suitable for a green roof - Bouteloua gracilis and Carex flacca. We also have Sedums for use on rooftops (listed under perennials). Follow the appropriate link on our Price List / Order page. Our Enviro-Turf also works well, as is shown in the picture above.
Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls		Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide

Cornelia Oberlander, a Landscape Architect in Vancouver, British Columbia is a proponent of green roofs and has written 2 documents on the subject, which are available here in PDF format:

• Introductory Manual for Greening Roofs - advantages, benefits, design and construction as well of suppliers of materials for green roofs
• Green Roof Monitoring Project - stormwater retention of 2 green roofs in Vancouver, BC area

Eye Candy: Oehme, Van Sweden and Associates

Sources:

• Soprema - sales offices across Canada
  • waterproof membranes
• Flynn Canada - installation, design assistance
• Stream Organics - growing medium, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
• Elevated Landscape Technologies - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • green roof and living wall systems
• Green Roof Tops - have a wide range of Green Roof Systems, both extensive and intensive, also do design services as well as installations; out of Vancouver, BC, Canada, servicing all of North America.
• Paradise Cityscapes - installers located in Victoria, BC, serving southern British Columbia
• Xeri roX Productions Ltd - Merritt, BC
  • produce a growing medium
• Verdir Systems - Abbotsford, BC
  • supplier of growing medium