Everyone wants to decorate their home beautifully. They decorate their inside home but what about the rooftop? The solution is rooftop gardening. Rooftop gardening is not only for decoration there are lots of others benefits of rooftop gardening which can amaze you.
The environment of the world is getting polluted heavily. The only solution to reducing pollution is planting trees. But lack of space and high rate of land making it difficult for planting trees or make a garden. So for these reason the concept of rooftop gardening becomes very popular in big cities.
In France Switzerland and Canada there are laws regulating and demanding that all new commercial and residential buildings have at least a partly green rooftop
A rooftop garden is basically a vegetative layer which can intentionally grown on the surface of the roof.
Now let’s discussed about the benefits of rooftop gardening:-
1. Improved air quality
Air pollution is increasing day by day especially in big cities. As a human beings we breathe in oxygen and breathe out co2 and plants are the best source of oxygen. But it is difficult to plant trees in urban areas because of a shortage of land. So in urban areas it is important to make a rooftop garden and this helps you to breathe in fresh air. The rooftop garden helps to reduce the percentage of dust and stop the production of smog and these things can decrease the chances of greenhouse emissions in big cities. Lust but not the least a single rooftop garden in a big city may not be able to give us any benefits but many rooftop gardens can do so.
Also read: Organic farming Benefits
2. Habitat for wildlife
Rooftop gardening also helps in the survival of wildlife. In the big cities there is also exist wildlife and they help the environment in many ways. When you create a rooftop garden you make homes for many insects and bees it helps in their survival. If you plant a minimum of big trees this will make homes for birds. So these things help in the survival of wildlife.
3. Fresh foods
It is very difficult to get fresh fruits and vegetables in the big cities because there is no land for farming those foods. So if you can make a garden on your rooftop then you are also able to produce fruits and vegetables in your rooftop garden and this can solve the problem of getting fresh food.
4. Reduce temperature
Your roof is construed with lots of materials and those materials observed Sunrays all through the day and become very hot in the summer make difficult for you to stay in the home. But if you make a garden on your rooftop it will soak the sun rays and keep your roof and home cool. If you like to hang out on your roof but you cannot do so because of your hot roof then make a garden on your rooftop that will cool down your roof temperature and also make beautiful views.
5. Easy to rearrange
When you make a garden you plant fruits trees shrubs flower they will remain fixed in that position. The plants further develop their roots and establish themselves in that place. So what happened when you think about moving your plants? Here the idea of a rooftop garden came into your mind. In a rooftop garden you can easily move your all plants whenever you want. Furthermore you can add any plants to your rooftop garden and you do not have any tension about digging in your rooftop garden. So you can easily rearrange your rooftop garden.
6. Effective use of rainwater
Rooftop gardening is the best way to use rainwater perfectly. Rainwater is a gift from the environment and a big source of energy. As the rain falls the plants on the rooftop immediately use the water and the extra rainwater is stored for future use. So in this way the chance of wasting rainwater is decreased. The use water on plants also returns to the environment by evaporation and transpiration. So we can say that rooftop gardens effectively use the rainwater.
Also Read: Best Drip Irrigation Kits for home
7. UHI effect control
The rooftop garden easily decreases the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. In recent times the UHI is the biggest problem in big cities. In urban areas all building is made of concrete and other material so those materials observed sunrays and become very hot because the sun warms up concrete much faster than plants and trees. For this reason the urban areas stay hot all through the year and it increases the use of ac and other cooling machines. But a rooftop garden can decrease the effect. Through the daily evaporation cycle plants cool down the temperature of the whole city. The rooftop garden also safe the roof of a building from direct sun and this also cools down your building’s temperature. So it is proven that rooftop gardens prevent UHI effects.
8. Energy efficiency
The rooftop garden can effectively use any kind of energy. A rooftop garden can retain heat in winter and keep the temperature cool in summer. A rooftop garden can help to reduce the use of air conditioning systems in summer and hitting systems in winter so this can save energy and money. Recent research proves that rooftop gardens reduce the demand for energy for air conditioning systems. The rooftop garden also modifies the temperature function in the building and moderates heat flow through the roof this save energy and keep the building cool in a natural way.
9. Urban agriculture
The concept of rooftop gardening is a great environment friendly initiative. The most valuable benefit of rooftop gardening is urban agriculture. The shortage of land for farming in urban areas is the main problem but the rooftop garden is dealing with that problem. The rooftop garden can also produce fresh food in urban areas. So the best way of agriculture in urban areas is the rooftop gardening.
Also read: Organic Farming methods
10. Less noise
The rooftop garden not only reduces the temperature of the building but also reduces the extra sound. That means the rooftop garden works as a sound reduction on the building. The plants on the rooftop garden absorb reflect and deflect the sound and as a result the noise pollution stays under control. So in big cities rooftop garden help to decrease noise pollution.
11. Decorative
It is true that the rooftop is often flat and dull. When you start gardening in your rooftop it could make your roof full of green and beautiful. You can also plant trees in a unique way and decorate your garden. A garden can add a beautiful green colour to your roof and we all know that green colour is best for physical and mental health. So create a beautiful garden on your rooftop and decorate it in a relaxing way.
12. Happiness
You don’t buy happiness in the market but a beautiful garden on your rooftop gives you lots of happiness. Everyone works hard all through the day but at the end of the day everyone needs some mental relaxation and a rooftop garden gives you so. Just think you work all through the day and at the end of the day you spent time in your beautiful rooftop garden, isn’t it beautiful? So it is already proven that a beautiful rooftop garden gives you lots of happiness and relaxes your mind.
Also Read: Types of Organic Farming
Advantages and disadvantages of rooftop garden
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 1. Rooftop garden reduce temperature and makes the roof as much cool as possible. | 1. The rooftop garden will put heavy pressure on the water supply of the building. |
| 2. It reduces CO2 and produces oxygen | 2. The structure and the weight of the rooftop garden can create problems in the building. |
| 3. Rooftop gardens provide fresh food in urban areas. | 3. Rooftop garden needs a complicated drainage system and it could be very costly. |
| 4. Rooftop garden gives high quality fresh water. | 4. Rooftop garden needs to clean and check every day otherwise there is a chance to grow snakes and reptiles and that could be very dangerous. |
| 4. Rooftop garden gives high quality fresh water. | 5. It was a very costly process to make a garden on a rooftop so it is not possible for everyone to make it. |
FAQs. Benefits of Rooftop Gardening
1. What are the common benefits of rooftop gardening?
There are lots of benefits of rooftop gardening some are improved air quality, reduce temperature in buildings, help in urban agriculture etc.
2. What are the basic steps of creating a rooftop garden?
The basic steps for creating a rooftop garden are first consult with a building engineer then check your water source after that make minimum space for the garden and lastly chose the right plating medium.
3. What are the main reasons of make a rooftop garden?
In urban areas it is difficult to make an ordinary garden because of the shortage of land. For planting trees in urban areas rooftop garden is the best option. This is the reason behind making a rooftop garden.
4. What are the main problems of rooftop gardening?
The main problems with rooftop gardening are it is a very costly process it needs a high quality drainage system.
Conclusion
Rooftop gardening is costly and time taking process. Every building is not capable to maintain the weight of a rooftop garden. So you need to consult with a building engineer and study your building materials carefully and then you will understand the right way to make a garden on the roof. So After a long discussion you can say that the rooftop garden is a very beneficial and precious concept especially in urban areas. But it is important to note that one single rooftop garden in a big city is like a drop of water in the sea. So if we want to enjoy the benefits of a rooftop garden then we have to make a garden on every one’s roof.