The mother plants at Motherplants (above) and demo dog house (right).
This morning, I stopped by Motherplants — a woman-owned nursery specializing in plants for green roofs. Marguerite, a friend and co-worker, is one of the operation’s principals, and I’ve been having her save up some ‘seconds’ for me for my Mudman project. (More on that later.)
The business is thriving. Marguerite is propagating and growing for projects small (the dog houses are for demo purposes) and large (one order for 18,000 square feet is keeping her hopping) from Alabama to Manhattan. But the nice thing about growing plants for living roofs is that they thrive on neglect. If being a little late to ventilate the greenhouse is going to kill your plants, you probably aren’t growing the right plants for the stressful conditions they’re going to encounter later in life.
Motherplants’ plant list includes nearly 50 sedums and a couple dozen other species, including Armeria, Delosperma, Dianthus, Festuca, Opuntia, Sempervivum, Thymus and more.
Motherplants’ primary product has been flats of plugs. But more and more they’re custom planting modules that are installed directly on the roof, eliminating transplanting on-site. Another twist along these lines is the living wall unit Marguerite is holding (right). The planting cells are angled slightly to help retain the media.
Plant ’em. Grow ’em. Hang ’em. Nothing to it.
Mother plant pad
Demo dog houses
This is going to sound pretty silly, but those demo dog houses have really knocked me for a loop. I’ve long wanted a green roof on my own house (but am resigned that I don’t have the money to shore up this old place well enough to do so) but WHY have I never thought about doing something similar elsewhere? How shortsighted of me.
The dog would love a little shaded spot in which to curl up… the bare wall to the left of my garage doors could use some dressing up… and on and on. I actually had thought about doing something with a living wreath on the garage wall, but never considered the groundcover sedums and such in that kind of an application. The possibilities are endless…
ps. Please tell your friend Marguerite that she definitely has a fan in Ohio. I would like to have a job as cool as hers someday.
I agree with Kim. This gave me ideas – I mean, if I build a small shed for lawnmowers, etc – why not have a little shed with a green roof? I love the idea. I’m not sure that I’m committed to doing it for the whole house (plus, I want solar panels if I can afford them) – but that doesn’t exclude a green roof on other structures. What a wonderful idea. (My dogs are looking at me saying ‘Doghouse? What’s a doghouse?’…okay, they’re spoiled). I think Marguerite looks as if she’s got a great place there!
This is interesting. I’ve been about Green Roofs for some time now. The Chicago city govt has embraced it in a big way for the skyscrapers downtown. City hall has a MASSIVE garden on the roof… reduces costs.
I’d like to have a green roof but am not sure it is the right thing to do for a remodel. If I ever build from the ground up. I’ll do it for certain.
Thanks for putting this up.
I don’t even have a dog, Craig, but the green-roofed dog houses got to me, too! This would have been a perfect idea at one time.
In Austin, only a few of the dog-loving people I know seem to have doghouses – guess the pets also need air-conditioning to survive here. I’m sending them to your blog and hope that they’ll also be charmed by this idea.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
A living roof might make a doghouse livable down there in Austin — during winter.
Could you give me any ideals on building a green roof on a small shed I have?
Thanks kindly,
D’Arcy
If a doghouse, why not a chicken coop? I’m sure our chickens would love it, and they would help with keeping the plants healthy.
Hello,
I was looking up info on Miscanthus Gigantous (privacy screening) and your site came up. There is a picture of red ivy that you posted, I believe you said it’s in front of the store. What is that kind of ivy called? I’m new to gardening so if you tell me it’s called Red Ivy, I won’t be surprised 😀
Your garden is amazing. Thanks for taking the time to post all your pics.
good work ladies! have been working on these small scale ideas for some time, birdhouses are also ideal for us beginers! there are also some fantastic books on the market with plenty info on getting it just right! p.s-haven’t seen the pic of the “red ivy” but i might suggest virginia creeper! fabulous screening, year round color and very vigorous!