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Up On The Rooftop - rooftop gardening

Flower & Garden Magazine, July, 2000 by Keith Corlett

Sky-high greeneries offer respite from the city bustle.

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the fabled high terrace gardens of Babylon, was probably man's first triumphant manipulation of nature on a grand scale. The gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar in 604 B.C. with the romantic notion of pleasing his new princess. They were described as "hanging" because they were raised on terraces.

In today's urban setting, the sheer pleasure of having a garden replaces romantic love as the prime motivation. But the attempt to manipulate nature is the constant, and the ability to do so allows a few fortunate New Yorkers who have penthouse roofs or terraces to enjoy their gardens in the sky.

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But how can such a daunting and unfriendly mixture of concrete and harsh New York City conditions nurture this different kind of garden? Rooftop gardening brings the realization that nature needs an ongoing helping hand when manipulated out of a ground level environment.

Gone are the relatively self-sustaining, spacious and sheltered conditions and the ground's moderating effect on temperatures. Suddenly everything is confined to exposed planters, removed from the usual moisture and nutrient sources, and subject to climatic extremes. An automatic watering system is essential for daily (sometimes twice daily) summer watering, along with regular fertilizing for the garden to flourish, or even survive. Temperatures can range from a sizzling +120 F from the reflected summer heat of buildings, to an exposed winter wind chill of -20 F, a dramatic spread of 140! So it is critical in tree and shrub selection to have a wide tolerance to avoid "bake-drying" in summer, "freeze-drying" in winter and "blow-drying" from prevailing winds year-round. Throw in occasional visits by summer hurricanes and winter blizzards and the plants really have to be stoic of limb and substance.

But just reconciling nature's needs with this artificial environment is not enough. There is one more major challenge lurking in the background--bureaucracy. The system of red tape in Manhattan conspires against having a high terrace garden. City building codes prescribe limits on planters and structures, such as decking, trellis and pergolas. Then there are fire department regulations, Landmark Preservation requirements for some buildings, and finally the sometimes unpredictable restrictions imposed by apartment building boards. All have an effect on what can or cannot be done and how good the garden will look.

Enough of the difficulties and challenges. Gardeners, an intrepid lot of born optimists, are not fazed easily when the rewards of a penthouse garden are in the offing.

And without doubt the most important benefit for the garden-lover trapped in the city is the sheer joy of escaping from the madding crowds teeming in the concrete canyons below to a tranquil rooftop oasis, a private garden retreat. Nothing can compare with relaxing among tree and flower favorites after enduring a hot and steamy August "dog day"--and even perhaps enjoying the refreshing sound of water from a fountain. Other Yorkers have no option but to return their boxlike apartments to hide from the sweltering heat.

But it is on summer weekends that the benefit of a high terrace garden is most treasured and appreciated. What a relief to avoid joining the Friday mass exodus from the city to the Hampton or Catskill resorts. To have a little green respite many have to pay the price of long, frustrating traffic jams, and face the same crowds they hoped to escape from in the city.

Instead, the rooftop gardener can putter around doing a little staking and tying here, a little dead-heading of flowers there. He or she has no more work than that, for the smallness of a terrace garden and the fact that everything is contained in automatically-watered planters eliminates the lawn-mowing, weeding, tree pruning and hedge trimming chores of a typical suburban garden. There is less to do, and everything is more controlled for greater relaxation and enjoyment of the garden.

The Lobell penthouse terrace on the upper East Side of Manhattan is a perfect example of an escape from the city. All the surrounding high-rises are screened out with clematis and honeysuckle vines on the perimeter fence. Boston ivy on the inner apartment wall gives the effect of a living green tunnel, with all the activity contained within for a truly private retreat. As a wraparound terrace, each section is separated by axial pergolas and arches to provide individual shade, entertaining, and private areas. Cold-hardy conifers, such as pine, spruce, cypress and juniper, are strategically placed to provide year-round interest opposite the "vista" windows. Birch and cherry trees, also tough, add to the summer greenery, along with flowing ornamental grasses. A generous planting of annuals and perennials provides seasonal color. And to escape the sun, wisteria vines cloak the pergolas. It is so easy for Carl Lobell to indulge his passion for roses, which dominate the planting on all sides, and forget the rigors of city life.

Up On The Rooftop - rooftop gardening

Flower & Garden Magazine, July, 2000 by Keith Corlett

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