The current climate change brings with it more frequent and greater fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. Therefore, taking into account sustainable development, climate change and biodiversity, together with Bernarda Strgar Schulz from the Trajnice Strgar Garden Centre, we greened the roof garden on their business building.

We set up test perennial plantations and enriched them with Urbanscape products.  Urbanscape mineral fibre products are made from a variety of rock blends that are abundant in nature. They are completely safe as they do not contain any additives, binders and phenol-formaldehyde resins. They improve the air-water regime of the soil and thus increase the ability to retain and distribute water, especially in dry conditions, and have an excellent effect on the growth of perennials.

The aim of this three-year project is to find new species and cultivars of perennials that will best withstand all weather fluctuations and changes in extreme conditions using Urbanscape growth media, with a minimum amount of substrate and without additional watering. Such growing conditions are otherwise found in urban environments − on the roofs of buildings, industrially degraded areas, areas around buildings, and on the roadside.

We planted the roof garden in the autumn of 2018. We used Urbanscape Green Roll and added minimal amounts of growing substrate for green roofs. For planting, we used a combination of durable ornamental grasses (Sesleria, Pennisetum) and perennials (Allium, Salvia, Kniphofia, Nepeta, Eryngium, Pulsatilla, Sedum, etc.) which are adapted to drought conditions and larger fluctuations in humidity and temperature. For the spring flowering of the plantations, spring-flowering bulbs (Allium, Tulipa, Crocus, Narcissus) were added to the combination of perennials.

The roof garden has been changing throughout the seasons, and the results are clearly visible in the photos.

In the hot summer months, the excellent innovative ability of the green roof has also proved to be an additional attribute, as the number of hours of cooling with air conditioning in the building has been significantly reduced. Blooming perennials in the roof garden have attracted numerous pollinators, bees, bumblebees, butterflies and other beneficial insects from spring to late autumn.

SPRING 2019