Experts extol environmental value of roof gardens

Roof gardens are a valuable way for urban homeowners to both spruce up their properties and play their part in saving the environment, it has been advised.

Householders who cultivate a de facto plot of land on top of their properties could make a "huge difference" to both the environment and homeowners' own living conditions, Guy Barter of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has commented.

"If everyone with a flat roof or terrace in London put out pots of plants, it would make a huge difference," advised the RHS's chief gardens advisor.

"Roof gardens reduce the amount of summer heat that gets down into buildings. They support urban wildlife, absorb rainwater in storms, thus reducing flooding, and micro-organisms in the soil absorb pollutants," Mr Barter added.

Tempartures across the capital and the UK as a whole are widely expected to soar once again this summer, with an estimated £4 billion set to have been spent on plants and shrubs in the UK by the end of the year, according to research published this week.



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