Roof terraces are essentially urban terraces where you can – with good planning and the right plants – recreate the simple country side.
It does take a lot of planning. For me it took attending classes at the New York Botanical Gardens for planting on terraces. After taking the classes – and then some more – I finally got the right planters and figured out the right places to put them. I had to decide between a countryside style garden, an Italian style garden, and much more. My garden is a mixture of materials including stone, rocks, table and chairs, and even some lanterns.
Michael Osborne's book Roof Terrace Gardening was a big help. His chapter on Shade and Shelter saved many of my plants.
I couldn't survive without an outdoor space in my NYC home. I grew all my plants from seeds which is gratifying. I also used the website, Urbanleaf to put seeds in bottles to decorate and have my summer herbs.
My garden is my safe haven where I pray and meditate.
Until tomorrow...