My current passion

One of my current passions is green roofs and vertical or living walls.

Green roofs are all the rage in Europe.  The multiple environmental benefits are set out at Green Roofs Australia's website, which include great insulation for one Rhode island 5 year old hen.  Sadly her friend died one freezing night. You may not be aware but you probably have a partial green roof already, with lichen and moss growing on corrugated iron as I found on my very dilapidated garage, or on your terracotta tile roof.

The reality is that in Melbourne, Australia our roofs are not generally equipped for intensive green roofs (as they are in Europe, UK, and some parts of the US), as our roofs are not constructed for snow.  But extensive roofs are possible in many cases.  The trick is to make sure the waterproofing layer is flawless.

We recently built an extensive green roof on to my chicken shed.  It is preferable to overlook a small roof top garden, rather than a swathe of sheet metal.   It cost about $90 which consisted of a tin of waterproofer, some treated pine, nails, brackets, plastic drainage layer, weed mat as filter, and scoria, sand and wood chips for the planting medium.  I've planted mine up with sedum plants (a variety of colours) as per the photos.   

Some are newer to blogging than I am

I was with one of my followers last night who wanted to write this

Interesting reading.  I had always thought about my garden as something that is aesthetic and hadn't thought about it from all those environmental angles.

So I am posting this message on their behalf . I guess that makes me a 'ghost writer'. Better luck next time.

Calling on all sustainable garden plotters

New York Greening

This is my latest bandwagon and am trying to galvanise fellow sustainability students and practitioners. 
Let's have a think about why gardens are gorgeous, good and holy. 
Gardens are Next to Godliness as they clean our air, they filter storm-water and groundwater, they give us oxygen, they are necessary for wildlife - habitats, pollination which are vital to our sustenance. They have minimal embedded energy. They are mostly child-play friendly. Gardens cool our environment, create shade, lower the urban heat island effect.  Provided the plants are hardy : drought/ flood tolerant, they mean minimal maintenance and can be long-lasting, easy on the pocket. Soft surfaces reduce water run-off substantially and ultimately the load on our stormwater systems, and ultimately our creeks, oceans. By developing a lawn and a garden these act as a carbon sink, and lower our demand for timber, quarried resources - especially those from unsustainable sources. (Compare outdoor rooms which use up resources like they are going out of fashion.)       
Gardens - getting down and dirty - is good for you!  You find muscles you thought you didn't have any more. 
So calling on all sustainable garden plotters, let's try to slow down the rapid expansion of the outdoor room, and the hardscaping of our landscapes, for all of the above reasons, and more.