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Gardening is looking up
Why the newest green space to catch your imagination is now on rooftops.
There’s a world of opportunity right above our heads. And people everywhere are starting to realise this.
While many of us may not have the space at ground level that we need to have a garden or a vegetable patch even, we do have a sizeable space above us that will do very nicely thank you. Our roofs.
And this idea has really started to take root in major cities everywhere, and on a large scale too.
Tower blocks have become very popular because of the shared responsibility and the chance for families to not only grow their own veg and show their children where food comes from, but it also engenders a sense of community through the shared responsibility. And what could be better than a garden with a view where you can look down on the hustle and bustle far below?
However, what’s particularly encouraging is businesses are also getting involved. For example, visit the Strand headquarters of the exclusive bank, Coutts, and go up to the roof and you’ll find their Skyline Garden is packed with the freshest vegetables, herbs and fruit – all used by the bank’s busy kitchens.
The reason hard-nosed businesses like Coutts are getting involved is simple. Gardening gives their employees a quick escape from the pressures and rigors of work to revitalise them and bring them together with a common goal. Pretty impressive results with just some earth and a few plants wouldn’t you say?
And the breadth of style of rooftop gardens is as impressive. From wildflowers to roof top boxes, manicured lawns to zen gardens with decking, to orchards with trees and bushes from which they collect fruit. There seems to be no limit to the possibilities and these gardens are as diverse as the horticulturalists and their buildings.
These oases of green in concrete jungles have also seen resurgence in city beekeeping and in just three years, membership of the British Beekeeping Association has doubled to 20,000, as young, urban dwellers transform their roofs and get the buzz for this pastime. Seeing it as much as an environmental movement and statement as an opportunity to have ‘home-grown’ honey.
So if you don’t have a garden, it could be that the garden you’ve always wanted is right above your head.