Product Description

In just a few years, green roofs have gone from a horticultural curiosity to a booming growth industry-primarily because the environmental benefits of extensively planted roofs are now beyond dispute, whether for industrial or governmental complexes or for private homes in urban or suburban settings. Despite the high level of interest in green roofs, until now there has been no reliable reference devoted exclusively to the various species of drought-tolerant plants that are suitable for use on extensive green roofs. Green Roof Plants fills that void. The book contains photographs and cultural information for more than 200 species and cultivars of plants, including valuable data on moisture needs, heat tolerance, hardiness, bloom color, foliage characteristics, and height. Concise, accurate, and easy to use, this book is destined to become an indispensable practical reference guide, not just for architects, landscape designers, engineers, and environmentalists, but also for environmentally conscious home gardeners.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20852 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 220 pages

From Booklist
Although relatively commonplace in Japan and throughout Europe, green roof gardening is just a grassroots movement in the U.S. But ecological and economic concerns are pushing what was once a landscaping anomaly into the forefront of environmental design. It is, however, not as simple as merely re-creating a ground-level garden high atop a building. Green roof gardening must take into consideration structural engineering issues such as load bearing, waterproofing, insulation, drainage, and maintenance. These same concerns make selecting suitable plant material a challenge. The authors have compiled the first reference tool designed to help green roof gardeners determine the best drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, temperature-hardy plants. Supported by 300-plus color photographs and including cultural details on more than 200 species and cultivars, this is an essential resource for home gardeners and landscape architects and designers looking for environmentally friendly choices. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Library Journal, September 2006
"Edmund Snodgrass, a [green roof] pioneer...provides an overview of green roofs, from their benefits and challenges to their design and construction to their plant selection...this useful guide targeted to green-roof industry professionals will also interest a general audience."

From the Publisher
Concise, accurate, and easy to use, Green Roof Plants is the first reference devoted to the drought-tolerant plants most likely to succeed in this fast-growing area of gardening. It is destined to become an indispensable practical reference guide.

Customer Reviews

simple, smart and useful
A great resource for design professionals. I greatly appreciate the honest real world look at vegetated roof planting. Simple plant mixes that have been tested and photographed are really all i need to spec out a system and sound like the genius architect i pretend to be. This little book has already saved me thousands in consultants. Thanks.

The Definitive Guide by the Definitve Experts
I first must confess that have a green roof on my 2 car rear garage here in Washington, DC and worked directly with the author on choosing the proper plants to thrive in our little micro-climate. So I already know the Snodgrass' are the pre-eminent experts in the United States on the types of plants suitable for a given situation.

That being said, this book provides an invaluable resource for those interested in, or who may become interested in, having a green roof for their home. When we installed our roof 4 years ago, had we not met the authors we would have had great difficulty in even knowing where to begin. Now all of us have that starting point: by reading Green Roof Plants.

And don't think you must be an environmentalist to consider installing a green roof - many do so simply for the aesthetics. In fact, as city dwellers with limited space, we chose a green roof to have something beautiful to view from our kitchen. I suspect there are many of you who really never have thought of having a green roof and would be consigned to a lifetime of looking down or up at a plain shingled, painted or tarred roof. Don't be that homeowner! Installation of a green roof adds perhaps 10-20% to the cost of a painted roof, extend the roof's life and provides significant environmental benefits. Go for it, and buy this book first!

Decent Resource for Planting a Vegetated Roof
Once you commit to the vegetated roof concept, you are very soon confronted with what will work up there. This book is a great point of departure!