Rooftop Garden
In Palma the roof is often the only outdoor space a house has, and it is the harshest growing environment on the island. Done properly it is also the one with the best view.
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Wind decides everything up here
Above the parapet the air is faster, drier and unbroken. Pots empty in a day, soft new growth is shredded before it hardens, and anything tall acts as a sail. The rooftops that work are built around shelter first and planting second.
Weight is the constraint nobody can design around. Wet substrate is heavy, so roof gardens use lightweight mixes and place the mass over structural lines, and on an older building that has to be confirmed rather than assumed.
Within those limits the palette is generous. Olive in a large container, rosemary and santolina, grasses that move in the wind rather than resisting it, and a vine on a frame for the shade nothing else provides.
Typical ingredients
- Lightweight substrate rather than garden soil
- Large containers fixed or weighted against wind
- Screens and glass to break the airflow
- Tough low planting with small or waxy leaves
- A vine or sail for overhead shade
- Automatic irrigation on every container
- Waterproofing and drainage checked before anything is placed
- Fittings and fixings rated for exposure
How this gets built
Can any roof hold a garden?
No. Load has to be confirmed for the building, and in an apartment the community usually has a say as well.
What survives full exposure up there?
Olive, rosemary, santolina, westringia, grasses and succulents, kept low and given some shelter. Tall soft leaved plants do not last a season.
Like this? Get it priced
Describe the roof and companies that work at height will quote you.