Our living roof starts to grow up

It’s been fun to come back to Dancing Rabbit and be able to see firsthand how our living roof  on Strawtron has changed since last year, when we completed building it. Unlike Gobcobatron, when I cut out sod squares and loaded them onto the roof surface, we used loose topsoil on this second living roof design. It was, in many ways, much more challenging but it was also what was available at the time. Thankfully, plants have started to take root in the soil and it’s no longer bare. I love the idea of an “evolving” living roof and seeing how the diversity of plants changes over time.

The Evolving Living Roof Design

Currently, the roof is home to a lot of pioneer species — those oftentimes less desirable plants like ragweed, lamb’s quarters, etc. (Although the greens of lamb’s quarters are very delicious.) They’re not the greatest, nor most beautiful, but it’s also expected — these are the types of plants that show up on bare soil and pave the way for other species down the line. I have noticed some clover, at least a few types of grasses, and some other low-lying herbaceous plants up there as well, which indicates that there should only be more of those popping up later.

Plants start to grow and hold the soil in place

It will take some time before the roof is burgeoning with diversity and fully grown up. We are not intentionally seeding it with anything (beyond a little vetch and winter wheat, as cover crops in the very early stages of the roof), as it seems somewhat pointless to me. Given how shallow the soil is (about 4″), I’d rather let the roof do what it wants to do, and see what comes up in the soil naturally.

What plants will take root next year?

The roof starts to blend in with the ground below