| Wherever it might be roof top gardeners are a | | | | Again built on vaults, surrounded by stone walls and |
| breed apart. With space at a premium I've seen | | | | featuring a 90 square metre pond supplied by water |
| meadows growing in eaves and roses trailing into the | | | | lifted from the river. The lower garden was built in |
| sky. In the most exposed spaces I've seen mature | | | | 1681 with another pond. Plants were in boxes with an |
| trees thriving and come across orchards and | | | | emphasis on trees, shrubs and vines with paintings |
| allotments in sheltered city gardens. | | | | giving an illusion of visually expanding the space. |
| Its never easy growing up in the sky but you'll be | | | | From the turn of the 20th Century one of the most |
| amazed what can be achieved with a little planning | | | | successful movements and where the term roof |
| and a close understanding of what you have got to | | | | garden was coined were for the theatre roof |
| deal with. It's harder than gardening on a ground level | | | | gardens of the US in places such as the American |
| but boy is it more inspirational! | | | | Theatre in New York City seen here. |
| Over half of new homes being built today are | | | | The New York conductor Rudpolph Aronson built the |
| apartments so roof gardens and terraces are | | | | first having been inspired by the theatres of Paris and |
| becoming more and more popular and vital to the | | | | the high cost of land! The Casino Theatre he built |
| green environment. If you think its too much effort | | | | was the first to specifically include a stage on the |
| and need a financial motive then research tells us | | | | roof for Summer performances. The most |
| that a great roof space, smallest balcony or terrace | | | | imaginative garden theatre was Oscar Hammerstein's |
| can add 8% to the sales price of a house and 25% | | | | Olympia Music Hall built in 1895 completely enclosed in |
| to the turnover of a restaurant! | | | | glass with a constant stream of water pumped to |
| In this article I'd like to just show you where we | | | | the outer edge of the roof to cool visitors and mask |
| started creating roof gardens because many people | | | | the sound of the street. Even then they were still |
| believe it's quite a modern phenomenon. | | | | using the rocky mountainside look and included |
| The hanging gardens of Babylon were probably the | | | | simulated lakes with live swans gliding along the |
| most famous roof gardens of all time. One of the | | | | surface. The introduction of air conditioning and |
| Seven Wonders of the World probably constructed | | | | changing tastes meant these theatres closed down in |
| during the rebuilding of Babylon by Nebuchadrezzar II | | | | the 1920s and one by one were demolished. |
| to console his wife Amytis who missed the greenery | | | | Now two gardens built before World War II have |
| of her homeland, Media. We only have mention of | | | | inspired roof garden designers over the years and |
| the gardens from writings made 200 years after their | | | | continue to do so. These are the Derry & Toms |
| destruction probably by Xerxes I around 482BC. It is | | | | garden in Kensington and The Rockefeller Garden in |
| described as having lofty stone terraces, closely | | | | New York. Some would also say the Union Square |
| reproduced mountain scenery with planting to create | | | | garden in San Francisco is influential and indeed this |
| the mountain surroundings of Media. Siculus (Greek | | | | has recently been re-designed to much praise. |
| historian 1st Century AD) describes them as being | | | | The Derry & Toms roof garden opened in 1938 as |
| 100 feet long by 100 feet wide and built in tiers to | | | | part of the famous department store. It hosted |
| resemble a theatre. Vaults carried the weight of the | | | | events with nobility and royalty until the store went |
| plants with the highest at 70 feet. Gardening on a | | | | out of business in 1978. Now part of the House of |
| grand scale but still with a mind for weight limits! | | | | Fraser group it was restored and has a new lease of |
| The next significant point in roof gardens were the | | | | life. The original garden had more than 500 trees and |
| Roman roof gardens of Pompei. We don't know | | | | shrubs. This has declined as poor maintenance, age |
| much about them but the eruption of Mount | | | | and drought have taken their toll and the planting has |
| Versuvius in AD 79 preserved almost perfectly a | | | | been simplified but is still a great example of what |
| building with what we would define as roof garden | | | | you can grow. There are three principal areas of |
| terraces. The Villa of the Mysteries just outside the | | | | Spanish gardens, Tudor gardens and English |
| northwest gate of Pompei has a U shaped terrace | | | | Woodland. The garden has been greatly changed for |
| along its north western and southern perimeters | | | | modern requirements of elevators etc. and the once |
| where plants were planted directly into soil. The | | | | prolific summer bedding replaced with lawns. |
| terrace is supported by a colonnade on all three sides. | | | | Some of the Rockefeller Centre buildings were |
| This became a tomb for those escaping the falling | | | | designed by the same architect as Derry & Toms - |
| ash. By careful excavation including pouring plaster | | | | Ralph Hancock. He was also a fellow of the RHS. The |
| into the root spaces the plants that were used have | | | | gardens are much simpler though with central |
| been identified. | | | | parterres of lawn, trimmed hedges of privet, |
| There are other gardens of the middles ages such as | | | | fountains and ponds just 2 inches deep. These were |
| those at Mont-Saint-Michel in France, The Medeci | | | | completed just before the Derry & Toms gardens. |
| garden at Careggi in Italy and the Aztec City of | | | | More elaborate Mediterranean gardens were designed |
| Tenochtitlan razed by Cortes in 1521. One of the | | | | by the chief horticulturalist for the site. What is most |
| most notable roof gardens of the 17th and 18th | | | | impressive is that 3000 tons of topsoil was brought |
| Centuries was the Kremlin Place in Moscow, razed in | | | | up in the elevators! |
| 1773 to make way for the Kremlin we know today. | | | | From the early days of gardens designed for |
| Gardens were a great luxury for the Russian nobility | | | | individuals and as public spaces roof gardens are now |
| and in the 17th century an extensive two level | | | | springing up everywhere and an apartment without |
| hanging garden was installed with an amazing 10 | | | | its own outdoor space is rare. But we owe our smart |
| acres on the upper level with two terraces | | | | London roof gardens to a long history of innovators |
| descending almost to the edge of the Moscow River. | | | | leading the way to greening our cities. |