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When someone mentions Chicago, images of skyscrapers and windy politicians immediately come to mind, but what about gardening? Many people may not realize it, but the city of Chicago is absolutely covered with gardens. We are not talking about your average run of the mill backyard green belts with garden benches and planter boxes; we're talking green patches in the sky.
Rooftop gardens are as functional as they are beautiful. They are incredibly energy-efficient, providing natural sound and heat insulation, improve air quality, reduce water runoff and in big cities, they decrease the excess heat of the "urban heat islands."
Mayor Daley's Garden
Chicago has been a pioneer of the urban rooftop garden movement. Chicago's former mayor, Mayor Daley, announced the city's Urban Heat Island Initiative in 2001 by having an enormous 20,300 square-foot rooftop garden planted on top of Chicago's City Hall building. Ever since then, rooftop gardens have sprung up all over the city.
PepsiCo's Rooftop Garden
Pepsico was given a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Award for eco-friendly business practices that include their brilliant rooftop garden design. The design includes solar panels and artistic wind turbines to increase its energy efficiency.
The Pepsico building is one of the few rooftop green patches that are open to the public, allowing employees and visitors to kick back on one of the patio benches and enjoy their lunch, or just take in the peace and quiet of the city from up above.
Your Very Own Rooftop Garden
Anyone can have their own rooftop garden. Of course, they will not be as grand as the large company and government sponsored variety, they can still be just as lovely in their own way.
The easiest way to create a rooftop garden in an urban area is what they call a "container garden." This does not entail any special modifications to the roof or the structure of the building because you are essentially, placing containers of flowers, planter boxes, light garden benches and greenery on the roof, rather than creating the roof as the garden itself.
If someone would want to create a large rooftop garden, the first step is to consult with the city to make sure the proper permits are obtained. Next, consult with a contractor to ensure that the roof itself can take the extra load, and if it cannot, what alterations can be made to accommodate.
There are two types to choose from. An extensive garden is a garden that has a shallow growth base, therefore needing less soil and causing less weight to be borne by the roof; the intensive garden is just the opposite, needing much more soil for the roots of the plants and trees to grow. Whatever design or style is chosen, it is important that thought is given to irrigation, plant type and sun exposure.
From the mayor's abode to the average city dweller, rooftop gardens are as much a part of Chicago as deep dish pizza and hot dogs, the Cubs and Lake Shore Drive, whether they are part of an energy efficient green program, or just because it's beautiful.
