A Garden Grows in January

Students periodically ask me about my job or how green roofs work. Below is an excerpt Q&A from a high school student inquiring about starting gardening club at school that I thought I'd share.

1) Why do you think that gardening is important to society?

There are many ways to describe gardening and what it means for different people. For some, they do it as a form of exercise and to be social, others enjoy the beautification of the containers and plans they put together and maintain. I take a very practical approach in that I want to grow plants for purpose- food for us, a habitat source for pollinators, and a way to mitigate the built environment.  Giving up turf grass and replacing it with plants that produce food, flavors, scents, color, and texture is very exciting and serves as a way to be self reliant.

2) What do you think the best part of a garden is?

I think the harvest is great, and educating others on the harvest is equally important. Knowing when something is ripe and how to eat it, or what the flowers are best to pick for a lasting bouquet, and how to share them with others is incredibly rewarding!

3) Is there anything else you would like to say?

Understanding where your food comes from is very important to society.  You may not personally enjoy a garden or farm, but you certainly rely on it for your meals.  Knowing what land management decisions are made by your neighbor does affect you, so knowing the basics of growing food in our ecosystem is vitally important regardless of your age. In 2001, I was interviewed by a student wondering about genetically modified foods.  My statement was the same- understand where your food comes from.  She laughed at me at the time, but has grown up to make educated choices on where to buy foods.  In our communities, we should be able to talk to the growers at farmers markets, buy food from the farms that share how they manage their crops, and choose to eat at restaurants that source local (or grow on their roofs!).

Food Roof

Gardening is fun, and you might meet some new people along the way who enjoy the same!

Winterized, but not slowing down

Today I write while listening to some rockin' holiday tunes (ha, don't judge) overlooking my green roof, dormant and buried under fresh snow. I am drinking hot tea, sweetened by some honey, produced by amazing bees whose home sits amongst a native prairie. In the midst of the winter season, we are surrounded by hints of the year's harvest. 

Milkweed

But this year's harvest was also cultivated by strengthening relationships which I observed at the annual green roof conference in November.  Most of my professional years have been in the industry, and I was once again reminded of all the colleagues I've met over the years- working on projects, building teams, sharing success stories. We work in a dynamic field which is in its infancy in comparison to some, and the variety of our professions still brings us to promote green roofs as a solution for whatever challenge a site might have. My connections are with manufacturers, growers, designers, engineers, researchers and marketers, which all bring their perspectives.
 

New prairie growing over 2 acres of building

AD Greenroof was brought on to some fantastic projects this growing season! One owner used her green roof to hide the building in the landscape.  Another wanted the roof to be designed as an amenity so they could increase occupancy rates faster than the other downtown buildings. A homeowner wanted his existing vegetated roof to have more diversity, friendly to the butterflies.  A facility manager recognized the value of ongoing, responsible management of their roof, and set aside the proper funds to pay for such services.  More designs are also in place to manage most of the storm water on site.

This is networking season, setting up time to build on partnerships, and evaluate opportunities. I look forward to sharing time with you! 

An Oasis for Monarchs in the Middle of a Corn Field

On a recent trip to Nebraska to service a new installation, I anticipated how the roof would mature in its first summer. I specified the proper soil depth to meet the native plant and succulent requirements, we added the very special mycorrhizae, the irrigation worked fairly well, and we were fortunate to have an abundance of rainfall this season. 

The building sits beyond turf grass neighborhoods, surrounded by corn fields. Driving to the building at the bottom of a hill, one cannot see it clearly as it was designed to blend into the landscape.

Once I got to the roof, my first observations included great coverage already at 60% and a nice balance of the fall grass plumes and flowering perennials. The best surprise coming from these roofs, however, was the new ecosystem we created for the butterflies and bees! These creatures found their oasis atop new construction, and quickly! I'm not talking about seeing one pollinator, we saw hundreds fluttering about! (Do you know how hard it is to photograph or video a bunch of monarchs?! Surprisingly difficult!) Did we witness a snippet of the severely declining Monarch population migrating south? Were they already living close to the site? I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing the Xerces Society will be happy to hear we have a new habitat, in a very desired place in the Mid-west!

Often times, I get caught in my daily routine working in the green roof industry, and forget that the decisions we make will impact others. Sure, there are lists of plants that attract certain insects, and I even blogged about this topic back in April, but many species are not suitable for a green roof micro-climate.  In this case, I'm proud of the consulting I provided this client, and was able to build a unique palette beyond the typical systems out there, making a huge impact on the local environment. And, it appears that nature is the real winner this time!
Contact Angie Durhman with any questions you may have about this project or blog.

Seasons Shift

There are many indicators that Fall has arrived.  School is in session, state and county fairs are wrapped up, the nights are getting cooler.  While certain parts of the country may still have some hot days in the near future, green roof plants know the days are getting shorter! 

If you have a green roof that was planted with more than just an extensive Sedum palette, you can probably see the fall asters blooming, ornamental grasses thriving, and Allium seed heads providing texture.  The photo on the right features milkweed, white snakeroot, and purple cone flower growing on a roof in Wisconsin.  

Another Fall indicator is the Living Architecture Monitor's free issue!  AD Greenroof LLC is featured on page 34.  Feel free to read it here!   www.livingarchitecturemonitor.com

It's not too late to reach out for some fall maintenance!  Email angie@adgreenroof.com

Pickin Weeds

It is certainly that time of year to talk about maintenance and efficient management of your green roof!  I visited several this week in Chicago and Minneapolis. The Target Center roof is 2.5 acres full of natives and succulents- robust this time of year!  With the regular and excessive rainfall, we haven't even turned on the irrigation on 3" soil!  The short video was shot on my phone on Friday, 7-18-14.  The video links to AD Greenroof's facebook page.  Please check it out!

The photo on the left shows some aggressiveness from Cassia on Target Center's roof.  Cassia (partridge pea) is a biennial, meaning it produces vegetated growth in year one, then in year two it flowers, sets seeds, and dies.  We have noticed increased populations and spread of this particular species across the roof over the years and try to manage it properly to keep ecosystem balance.  What about the bugs? On Friday, I was bombarded with grasshoppers, bees, some flies and even birds. Where else are they going to hang out downtown? :)

This week, I also completed some maintenance for the Met Council on their Farmington, MN waste water treatment site.  It's a lovely green roof, with some volunteer milkweed plants right in the center! The research team is starting data collection and AD Greenroof completed a plant survey earlier this year. 

Do you have a green roof and have questions regarding its care?  Please contact angie@adgreenroof.com and share some photos if you can. We look forward to hearing from you!

Rains and Roofs

Rain. Rain. Rain….well, at least in Minnesota!

In the Twin Cities, we are experiencing the wettest spring since 1891. This week alone we will exceed 12” of rain. With prolonged saturating rain events every few days since winter thaw, the Mississippi River is expected to rise seven feet in the next few days. The creeks are flooded, and after this weekend’s rain, even more streets will be closed. Some farms have already declared their crop failures for the year. And, extreme flooding up North usually means problems for the cities along the southern flow of the River.Weather factoids and jumping in puddles are fun, but this is serious business for the region that was not designed to manage this much water.

This week we held a green roof symposium designed to drive policy and promote them across the state.  Ironically, listening to the news after the event, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency stated that excessive flooding was the cause of runoff from all the roofs and other impervious surfaces coupled with aging storm water infrastructure not able to manage the volume. Vegetated roofs can alleviate some of this!

Is this the chaotic event that is needed to drive change?

We are building a task force to make an aggressive plan to reach policy makers and work with them to create incentives for green roof construction.  Cities that are growing hundreds of roofs have programs in place already to provide rebates and grants for installations- and are starting to see the positive effects of reducing impervious surfaces. 

Contact angie@adgreenroof.com if you are interested in motivating the politicians and agencies to build vegetated roofs!

Green Happenings

Spring is a very busy time for green roofers!  I will keep this short but wanted to share some events coming up that may be of interest to you!

First, AD Greenroof will be finishing the planting of an acre green roof in Nebraska on June 6.  It has undulating soil depths, and will be full of natives.  The perimeter plants will be our favorite drought tolerant succulents and wildflowers may thrive there, too! 

The MN Green Roofs Council has partnered with Green Roofs for Healthy Cities to create a star-studded policy event on June 19 at Hamline U.  I will be speaking about a local case study, the Target Center, and discussing the new MIDS Stormwater Calculator.  Hope to see you there!

But, if "policy and a pint" is not your thing, perhaps biking for a pint is!  On June 22, we are hosting a bike tour of 5 green roofs in Minneapolis, ending at a brewery. 

Also, National Roofers Contractor Assoc has asked me to present a webinar on (what else?) green roofs on July 19. Feel free to register in the link provided.

We continue to collect some awesome data at Penfield in St. Paul.  Measuring storm water performance and tracking temperature is ongoing. Abbey the Intern, has complied a wonderful local literature review!

With all this going on, it's important to stay focused on maintenance, quality installations, and partnering with the right people to get the job done safely.