Sempervivum & Sedum "roof" project

This view shows an individual compartment, lined with recycled pond liner. The white area is a plastic mesh cover, made from a used mesh bag (that originally contained garden bulbs). The mesh covers the pipe outlet. The bottom of the box slopes about 1 inch per foot, toward the drain. The pipe is the only item specifically purchased so far for this project, 3/4" inside diameter rubber tube (about $1.75 for the entire length).


Close up of drain arrangement. The white plastic mesh was stapled to the side of the box so that it would not move around. The plastic pond liner is stretched around the end of the pipe.


After adding growth medium. The growth medium is "Whitney's organic potting soil", lightened with about 25% perlite for better drainage. After exploring the plant options, sedum was used in addition to sempervivum. About 1/2 of the plants were scrounged from around the yard, mainly Sempervivums that have multiplied and spread in several locations, and needed thinning, and Sedums that have been used for ground cover in dry locations. The other 1/2 were from end-of-summer sale at Portland Nursery. This view is from the stairway. Coming up the stairs, the plants can be viewed at eye-level.


Viewed from front door. My only real concern is that this is on the North side of the house, and the succulents may not flourish there. I think they will do OK, since there are already some at ground level on the North side of the house and North of a large tree.


This project is inspired by various green roof articles, such as a university site from Michigan, a do-it-yourself garage roof (with nice photos), a do-it-yourself roof in Vancouver Canada, and some sites in the UK. Even though it is the top of a small wall, it actually does serve as a small roof for a basement room, and the existing wall did leak into the basement. I'm hoping that with the pond liner and the drain system, the leakage will no longer occur, and that the plants will not require summer watering or other significant care.

Genetic Dwarf Peach "Garden Gold"

This "tree" is in its first bearing year, second year in this garden (but only 3 peaches). As with a lot of garden fruits, they taste more like one would expect from a peach, compared to the grocery store type. They are quite "peachy" and sweet.

The tree doesnt take up much space in the garden. Near it is a "Honey Babe" which is 5 years old, and is about 5 feet tall and 4 feet across at the top. It bore last year but not this year.

These trees are covered with pink flowers in the Spring. I keep saying that even if they dont have any peaches, they are worth it for their appearance. But I do want the peaches.

There is a good Mother Earth news article about these miniature trees. It has lost some of its formatting, but is still interesting to read. These trees are very dwarf, due to a loss of length of stem between nodes - instead of several inches between notes, there is only about a millimeter between nodes. They are said to be very high yielding - much more than the same amount of orchard space with larger trees.



The biggest hurdle to fruit, in this climate, is leaf curl. This disease strikes in Spring just after blooming. I tried a lime sulfur spray last winter and Spring, and it might have helpd some, but I think that the reason that there were so few fruits is that this disease strikes just when blossoms are setting. It may be possible to cover the trees during the winter to prevent this problem (I dont have faith in this approach) or a different (still organic) spray.

Main crop- Vancouver figs begin

These are the first of the main crop figs from my 'found' Vancouver variety fig. The first wasnt as sweet as the breba - due to cooler / shorter days? Ate too soon?

Project: Sempervivum roof from recycled materials.

This short wall at the house entrance had the unfortunate habit of channeling water into the basement.

I collected recycled wood from the garage, mainly 2 X 6 's and some plywood, and constructed the box in this photo. The bottom slopes away from the house. The liner is recycled black rubber pond liner. I still need to construct a drain system so that any water that collects will be directed away from the house.
The box will be filled with coarse broken rocks and slate, perlite, and potting soil. Sempervivums and sedums will be planted as a living roof. These plants tolerate dry conditions, poor rocky soil, heat, and cold. I've been sticking starts between rocks in a recycled concrete wall, and they grow well there.

Sempervivum has a long tradition as a roofing plant. It is very durable. The name means "I always live" and refers to the plant's durability. They are originally from the Mediterranian and Himalayas. Romans grew it at their entrances to show their prosperity, and in Northwestern Europe, it was grown on roofs to deter lightning and fire.

Sempervivum is used today in projects for creating "green roofs" in urban settings and for home projects. It will be fun to see how this project turns out. My main concern is the northern exposure, but I already have a number of these plants in north facing locations and they seem to do fine.

Just for Show. Worked from home today.

Rose of Sharon (Althea or Hibiscus syriacus) has been grown since Biblical times; there is mention in the Songs of Solomon. This shrub is tolerant of dry conditions, so I rarely water it. It blooms from mid summer to fall. There are self-sown seedling near the original shrub - will they have similar blossoms? If there is room for them, we'll know in a year or two.


Lilium Speciosum rubrum, nonhybrid oriental lilies. Nice fragrance, bloom later than all of the other lilies in the garden. These too seem fairly dry tolerant, now that they are established.

I worked via computer hookup from home, so no bike ride but no drive either. That seems like a fairly earth-friendly way to work, I suppose.