The traditional gardening season is drawing to a close, but don’t fret! These spectacular rooftop gardens will keep your green thumb inspired all year long.

In densely-populated cities, living roofs can be a great way to combat urban heat island effect while producing healthy food and a place to escape the rat-race. If you’re looking for some elevated gardening inspiration, have we got a treat for you.

Far from a few pots of tomatoes on a fire escape, the following rooftop gardens show exactly how much gardening potential exists high above our heads. Check out these amazing rooftop garden designs from designers and property owners around the world, and get inspired for your own living roof!

1. Chicago City Hall Rooftop Garden

Chicago’s most famous rooftop garden sits atop City Hall, an 11-story office building in the Loop. Planted in 2000, the garden was designed to demonstrate the benefits of green roofs and how they affect temperature and air quality. The garden now features more than 100 species of plants, including native prairie and woodland grasses and forbs, hardy ornamental perennials and grasses, several species of native and ornamental shrubs, and two varieties of trees.

2. Nine Houses, Dietikon, Switzerland

Ok, so this one is cheating a little bit, but it was too awesome to omit. Designed by architect Peter Vetsch back in 1993, this cluster of nine separate residences are made out of concrete and buried in earth and grass. The overall effect is like something out of “The Hobbit.”

“Residents can use their rooftops however they choose, and as such some are planted as gardens, others used as sitting areas with shrubs. Many rooftops are not used at all, and are simply undulating meadows,” write the designers.

3. Rockefeller Center Green Roof

Did you know the Rockefeller Center is the oldest commercial building with green roof in America? For more than 75 years, the rooftop gardens on top of the Center have boasted impeccably manicured shrubs, flowers, and lawns. “Created by landscape architect Ralph Hancock, the gardens’ elaborate fountain pools, stone planters, and vegetation are most definitely not the types of structures you see on rooftop gardens today,” reports Inhabitat. “To support the thousands of tons of extra weight from the pipes, soil, and pumps, the Rockefeller Center’s roofing was reinforced with extra steel.” Unfortunately, the gardens are almost never open to the public.

4. Place-Royale, Quebec

Considered the birthplace of French America, Place-Royale is a destination for history and culture enthusiasts. “The public square became a marketplace under the French regime. It was also the place where criminal executions and corporal punishment were carried out,” explains MCQ.org. Over time, it became run-down, and the government stepped in to preserve and restore the historically significant buildings. Atop one, this whimsical living roof was planted as a place for enjoying greenery, fountains and public art.

5. VivoCity Sky Park, Singapore

Normally, green space and a nation’s largest shopping mall aren’t things we’d mention in the same sentence, but this architectural marvel from Singapore proves that it can be done. The VivoCity mall features a massive Sky Park that’s open to the sun and fresh air. A favorite destination of locals as well as international tourists, the rooftop features gardens, an ampitheatre, open air playground, and a wading area that the area of four Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Related on Ecosalon:

10 Ideas For Sexy Urban Gardens

4 Indoor Growing Gadgets For Lazy Gardeners

Images: pinboke, joebehr, Green Roofs, digitizedchaos, meddygarnet, Calvin Teo

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image: Percita

Interest in urban farming has generated creative uses of space, with many rooftops turning into skyscraping gardens. And another trend is filling in green building tops: sod roofs.

While a food-producing rooftop’s payoff is pretty obvious (and delicious!), what are the benefits to one covered in grass, shrubs and flowers? Quite a few, according to Chelsea Green. “The temperature moderating effect caused by 5 to 6 inches of earth on the roof helps keep a house cooler in summer and warmer in winter, especially in extreme climates; 14 inches of decomposing straw will have the same effect while adding some insulation for a while. Such roofs are therefore a prime choice for cold-climate houses built with a high degree of insulation for maximum comfort.” There’s also the benefit of wind and noise protection: “A city house built with bales and covered with an organic roof will become a peaceful retreat at any time of day, even in areas with dense traffic. On particularly windy sites, such a roof anchors the house to the ground physically as well as visually.”

image: roger 4336

And while an edible rooftop or urban garden is more expensive and requires constant maintenance, a sod-covered roof can be particularly affordable and self-regulating. It can also extend the life of the roof and help mitigate storm runoff damage.

Sod roofs attract birds, who can help to keep pests away and, of course, bring you many moments of beautiful contemplation. Green rooftops can clean the air, which benefits you and your neighbors.

image: pnwra

Almost 10 percent of all of Germany’s rooftops are green and regulations in Tokyo, Toronto and Switzerland require specific sized roofs to be green. And here in the U.S., reports World Changing, Chicago has begun planning and installing more than 200 green roofs throughout the city.

Need some sod rooftop ideas? Here are a few favorites:

From Malung Hembygdsgård in Sweden.  

Norway has quite a few.

This site is full of gorgeous sod rooftops!

Apartment Therapy loves green roofs.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

The post Redefining Urban Gardens: Greening Roofs with Sod appeared first on EcoSalon.

Help crowdfund one of 100 sustainable school gardens in urban areas across the country.

As crowdfunding is becoming increasingly popular, thanks to sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, it’s easier than ever to support causes that we truly believe in like giving children access to fresh food and teaching them about the importance of healthy eating through school gardens.

This month, Whole Kids Foundation, PACT, and Indiegogo have teamed up to help fund 100 sustainable school gardens in urban areas across the US. The Urban Gardens Across America campaign enables donors to fund the garden project (or projects) of their choice through the world’s largest crowdfunding platform to help give the children tools that will empower then throughout their lives.

School gardens brings this kind of nutritional education straight to the children and serve as living laboratories for education. Today, only 2 percent of American children eat enough fruits and vegetables, and 1 in 3 American children born after 2000 is at risk for Type II diabetes. A garden is an introduction to what it takes to produce real, healthy food — from seed to plate. With more than 80 percent of Americans living in cities and suburbs, further away from farms and food production, it’s more important than ever to teach children the values of natural processes.

The goal is to raise $2,500 for each garden in just 39 days. For a contribution as small as $10, you can help feed, teach, and inspire people in each of these 100 communities. With every contribution, donors will receive great perks from mission-driven organic apparel brand PACT, including ethically made undies, socks and tees. To support the campaign, PACT has designed a garden-inspired collection of socks, tanks, T-shirts, leggings and underwear. “Our Spring 2013 collection reflects our dedication to the urban farms movement from our Farm Stripes to our Blossom prints,” says Jeff Denby, owner of PACT. “We are excited to connect PACT with urban farms across the country and raise awareness of the importance of eating healthy foods.”

The Whole Kids Foundation, a Whole Foods Market foundation, will provide additional support for each garden, like online garden planning tools and organic seeds to help build or expand each urban garden. “Gardening helps create a tangible experience that connects parents and kids to real food and helps inspires healthier eating habits,” said Nona Evans, executive director for Whole Kids Foundation.

“It’s inspiring to know that a mission-driven foundation, brand and crowdfunding platform can not only do good together, but we can also empower people to take action and influence what happens in their local communities,” said Danae Ringelmann, Co-Founder of Indiegogo.

To engage the community and rally support around these campaigns, each one is led by a “PACTivist” who acts as an advocate for a particular garden. I am honored to represent the garden at Meiners Oaks Elementary School in Ojai, CA. It’s a great example of a successful school garden, as nearly 70 percent of 1st-6th graders choose to participate. Every Wednesday, budding gardeners help with tasks like planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, sifting compost, and saving seeds, but also get to enjoy the fruits of their labor by making raw tacos and snacking on garden fresh veggies.

The Gardens Across America campaign runs until February 28. Help us support the Meiners Oaks garden or find one in your community.

photography from Meiners Oaks Elementary, all by Timothy Teague

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Haute gardening for boutique parcels of land.

It’s Earth Month, technically. At the risk of sounding like a cliché: for us here at EcoSalon, every month is earth month. To celebrate April and beyond, we’re going to be taking a look at gardens galore this month and next. We’ll be exploring ways in which designers, gardeners and other earth-loving individuals are integrating nature into their homes and communities.

Today, some haute gardening ideas for tiny parcels of land in dense urban environments, where space (and greenery) is at a premium.

If your “acre of land” is actually a wall, try hanging pots, empty jumbo soup cans or a salvaged boom box:

Garden bags are perfect for a room with a view:

The Kikkuu White Planter is perfect for an enclosed patio or porch:

Make your rooftop a thrift-store/flea-market gardening oasis: 

An amazing reuse of pallets:

Street art…

Images: Urban Gardens; Vintage Modern Home; Downsize My Space; Labellum Flowers; Made in Design; Studio G; Life on the Balcony; Dishfunctional Designs; Blog Alice

The post 10 Ideas for Sexy Urban Gardens appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnAn urban farming legalization trend sweeps the country.

Looking for a work-at-home green job? You might consider tilling the backyard and planting a few crops.

No more fossil fuel burning commute, no need for professional attire purchased from sweatshop supporting retailers, no more disposable containers from the workaday desktop lunch, and no driving to the gym to counteract your sedentary lifestyle.

Not to mention, you’ll be helping the soil, planting oxygen-producing plants, not fertilizing (and mowing) a lawn, producing local food that doesn’t have to travel far, and building your own little food shed.

The urban farming trend has blossomed over the past few years, but most of the people growing food are only doing it for themselves and maybe some friends and neighbors. While commendable, imagine if urban farming were a viable career and a dependable source of food for city dwellers? We need more people producing food in this country. The average age of farmers is mid-50s and only one percent of people in the U.S. list farming as their occupation. Urban farming can benefit communities by serving as a cushion against recession, a safety net during times of disruption in services, and can also increase urban self-reliance, foster a sense of community and shared purpose, not to mention bring urban dwellers closer to the cycles of nature.

Could urban farming be a burgeoning green business allowing more eager, young farmers to build a career?

If this all sounds a little pie-in-the-sky, it might soon be a reality in many parts of the country.

Energetic young urban farmers all over the U.S. have been working hard to raise awareness and lobby for laws that will let them grow (and sell) food in their own neighborhoods, and they’ve been making progress.

The San Francisco planning commission unanimously supported a proposal to simplify permitting to allow home gardeners to sell their produce. The measure now goes before the Board of Supervisors. This is great news for Little City Gardens, the only urban farming business I know of. The garden provides salad greens and culinary herbs from its 3/4 acre spread to a few restaurants and caterers. Little City Gardens was the trailblazer, but I imagine many more gardeners would start such businesses if only there was legal framework.

Here’s a look at what’s happening on the urban gardening front:

– In Berkeley, the City Council is working with the planning commission to get home-based gardens added into the city code as a legal home-based business.

– In Vancouver, WA, urban farmers teamed up to form a co-op and open their own farmers market to sell home-grown produce.

– Last summer, Seattle changed the city zoning codes to allow for more urban farms, increased the number of chickens residents could legally keep, and made it legal for growers to sell backyard produce.

– Also last summer, Los Angeles made it legal to farm within the city limits and to sell home-grown produce through the Food and Flowers Freedom Act.

– The town of Sedgewick ME, just last week passed The Local Food and Self Governance Ordinance, which not only exempts direct farm sales from state and federal licensing and inspection, but goes even further to also allow the sale of foods made in the home kitchen.

– Last summer, Kansas City passed an ordinance allowing home gardeners to sell their harvest.

– Similarly, Michigan’s Cottage Food Law allows the sale of certain approved foods produced in residential kitchens from homes, farm markets, or roadside stands, county fairs, festivals, and other events, provided the food is labeled as coming from an un-inspected home kitchen.

– Detroit, being perhaps the nation’s epicenter of urban farming, hopefully won’t have long to wait to achieve official recognition of its many urban farms currently operating without the proper zoning to legitimize them.

All over the country, citizens are working with their local governments to take back the production of their own food. The names of some of the new laws are telling: “freedom act,” “self governance ordinance,” this is the language of change, maybe even revolution.

People are ready to wrest control of what they eat out of the hands of big food. Though these movements may seem tiny, looked at together they represent a mighty wave of people taking up hoes to make real change in their neighborhoods.

Do you have an urban farmer inside of you? Maybe you want to get ahead of the competition. Try these 5 ideas for transforming your own backyard.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Christine Paulus

The post The Green Plate: Is Urban Farming the Next Green Cottage Industry? appeared first on EcoSalon.