How to create a wildlife friendly roof garden
Although it might not seem suitable at first glance producing a wildlife garden on a roof or terrace might not seem possible often it’s the perfect situation, especially in an inner city.
Although a city might not seem to contain much wildlife a closer look will reveal several different insects and birds living in a city taking advantage of the shelter and milder conditions created by a city microclimate.
The key to creating a wildlife friendly roof garden or terrace is to install a simple irrigation system as most of your plants are going to have to survive in pots and containers and even with the best intentions, you will be away on holiday or for other reasons when it’s impossible to water the garden.
A simple drip irrigation system with a timer is not expensive, we recommend looking at Gardena irrigation systems
Another key to creating a wildlife friendly roof garden or terrace is to use soil-based compost such as John Innes number 2 compost as this will be easier to water and keep at the correct moisture levels. Its also worth installing a small irrigation system connected to a tap or raised water butt
With regards to plants its best to start with structural shrubs and small trees such as
Olives
Pittosporum
sarcococca confusa Sweet Box
choisya ternata
skimmia japonica
Daphne odora ‘Marginata’
Next look at climbing and wall shrubs such as
Clematis armandii
Trumpet vine Campsis radicans
Finally, the main spring and summer flowering plants could including
salvia royal bumble
dicentra spectabilis
Scabiosa caucasica ‘Clive Greaves’
agapanthus blue peter
campanula persicifolia
nepeta junior walker
achillea red velvet
sedum autumn joy
You can also add some annual and biannual plants plus a few early-season flowering bulbs such as
pansies
crocus
and Wallflower ‘Sugar Rush Red’ F1 grown as a biannual
A combination of the plants above will provide you with a steady supply of flowers and shelter for a wide range of insects, birds and other wildlife.
