Another Before and After - Eco roof!

Here's our eco-roof, one year in. Here's how we built it:

In the spirit of my first post, I thought it would be fun to see another before and after in the form of one of our summer projects, the eco-roof above the overhang on our detached garage.

Here is what it looked like last year:

Ugly asphalt tiles was our view...we imagined a greener one.The project was in our heads for a couple of years, we did some research via the Portland Ecoroof Program and modeled ours after several examples of residential small projects on the site.

So David went to work! The first layer is a pond liner purchased at Portland Nursery.

Then on top of that went the frame David built from cedar. Then filter fabric and some netting went on top.The frame was attached to the roof with brackets and screws.

David placing the "growing media".

We purchased the specialized blend of dirt (ok, growing media) from Sunmark Environmental .

Opening one bag at a time and dumping it, I worked from left to right, back of roof to front, planting as I went.

Once it's planted, it was difficult to go back and change things and walk on the surface.

The finished roof! About 20 hours of our time for the finished product, well worth it.

Finished roof three weeks in.

After a month and some Japanese blood grass.

Blood grass and sedums start to fill in, looking forward to the grasses filling in, they are so lovely backlit by the sun.

So I have to say, we had extra materials and what to do with some extra pond liner? ANOTHER ECO ROOF! That one is on top of our blue shed and cannot be seen as we see this one. Another post, another time.

So why do it at all?

Benefits of eco-roofs: They manage storm water, protect streams, cool cities and clean the air, conserve energy, save money and provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds. But mostly, they just look cool and hey, it's an excuse to plant more! We also feel it visually balances the back garden. For more information about eco-roofs and resournces, check out the Portland Ecoroof Program or the Ecoroof Handbook.

Plant List:

Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra'
Pennisetum villosum
Sedum divergens - native to Oregon
Sedum hakonense 'Chocolate Ball'
Sedum laxum - native to Oregon
Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'
Sedum spathulifolium - native to Oregon
Sedum spurium 'Fuldaglut'
Sempervivum 'Lotus'
Sempervivum 'Ruby Hearts'
Sempervivum tectorum
Thymus serpylium 'Coccineus'
Sedum oreganum - native to Oregon


Thanks for joining me, as the ecoroof grows and fills in, I will surely post more photos. Enjoy!