Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls

by Nigel Dunnett

The latest techniques for planting roofs and walls to enhance our buildings and benefit the environment. The green roof industry is booming and the technology changing fast as professionals respond to the unique challenges of each new planting. In this comprehensively updated, fully revised edition of their authoritative reference, Nigel Dunnett and Noël Kingsbury reveal the very latest techniques, materials, and plants, and showcase some spectacular new case studies for the non-professional. Green roofs and walls reduce pollution and runoff, help insulate and reduce the maintenance needs of buildings, contribute to biodiversity, and provide habitats for wildlife. In addition to all this, they are attractive to look at and enhance the quality of life of residents. In Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls, Revised and Updated Edition , the authors describe and illustrate the practical techniques required to design, implement, and maintain a green roof or wall to the highest standards. This informative, up-to-the-minute reference will encourage gardeners everywhere to consider the enormous benefits to be gained from planting on their roofs and walls.

Genres: Gardening, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Sustainability

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Justme · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is tough to rate & review. This is not a new subject for me; I have both education & interest which has included some previous explorations. I try to imagine if I was a complete novice.
And there is my dilemma...I cannot figure out who the audience for this book is. I am debating whether to even keep it as a reference at all.
First off, it does have some useful information. It's simply presented in a very dull 'textbook' style with massive repetition & circular thinking. The topics are thoughtfully presented and the 'outline' was good, but the actual verbiage could use extensive editing & reorganization. I believe the length of the book could easily be cut by 1/3.
As far as the quality of the information...it tantalizes but when you get right down to it, has little practical application. It's too complex for simply introducing the topic & getting someone enthused about it...it would just overwhelm the reader & leave them thinking it was best left to 'experts.' But it doesn't take the enthusiast any farther in their explorations.
It's like a gardener reading a book showing some examples of famous gardens. Hardly useful. Maybe inspiring. But then use the 'textbook style' of drink-massive-amounts-of-coffee-so-you-don't-fall-asleep-while-you-study...and it's a complete slog, not a fun romp.
Well, I did learn a few things, and I like the plant directories at the back. So, I'm not sorry I read it. In future editions, I would like to see more depth & detail of the case studies, better summaries (to reduce saying the same thing in 10+ different places), and a solid direction towards either enthusiasm or technical usage. Overall 3.5*

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just would like a few more photos of examples! Otherwise, great.

[Gang Chen, Author of "Planting Design Illustrated" · Rating 5 out of 5]

A serious attempt on a difficult subject

I am a big advocate on using plants to create green walls and roofs. They can reduce the urban "heat island" effect and create usable green open spaces. I found this book's discussions on Intensive Green Roof, Extensive Green Roof, Ecoroof, Brown Roof, etc interesting. This book is a serious attempt on a difficult subject. The color photos inside the book are helpful also.

There are still technical difficulties in using green walls and roofs: water proofing, how to handle the structural weight of large trees, how to integrate large plants with building structure, etc. All these technical discussions are needed, and they could be the subject of another book.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

technical--good