The Challanges of Rooftop Gardening

On the Balcony

In 2012 I sold my 10 room house in the New Dorp section of Staten Island and bought a two-bedroom, two bath condo in St George quite close to the Staten Island Ferry.  The one thing that really sold  me on this place was the 925 square feet of outdoor space from the combined areas of a balcony and a roof deck.  It felt like having a private "back yard" eight stories above street level with a great water view.  The challenge was to make the space comfortable and useful while trying to be a sophisticated urban garden space, but a garden dependent on container plantings.

My inspiration was a friend who lives in Manhattan on the Upper Westside.  Her wonderful apartment has a U-shaped wrap around roof deck with many mature plantings. The apartment had been in her family for many years, and she has spent much time honing in on which plants work best in her space. The bulk of her space faces south with a shorter seating area facing east and a dining area facing west.  She shared with me her greatest challenges, and I have come to agree with her: choosing the best suited plant for the space and watering correctly.

On the roof deck

Another helpful source was a relative who is a landscape architect.  He sketched out possible seating options including planting containers, benches and placement of tables and chairs. He also was emphatic about the need for correctly placing plants in adequately sized containers and the importance of placement and watering.  His basic plan was an outline for me in laying out and defining the outdoor space. 

Roof deck plantings

The "plant guy" at my local garden center has been invaluable coaching me on the proper plants to withstand the ever-present harbor breeze that can quickly turn into a fast wind as the weather systems roll over us.  He basically told me that even if I love hydrangeas, lilacs and miniature Douglas fir trees, they are just not good choices for my particular roof deck which faces East and South garnering some intense sunlight from early Spring until the crisp dappled days of Autumn turn the local trees  lovely shades of golden yellow and bright crimson red.                      

My journey to the perfect roof top garden is far from over, but I am on my way. I have learned things both the easy and hard way.  Easy because the space is self-defining, it is what it is, and it will be the same shape year after year; hard because I have had to admit that some of my favorite plants are not a good fit for this particular place.  I lost one hydrangea, two fir trees, one hostas plant, a three foot rosemary bush, and a hibiscus.  I learned that the firs don't like to be in pots, nor do they like direct sunlight, which I have plenty of.  The rosemary bush should have been brought inside for the winter, and the same goes for the hibiscus.  Both could have survived outside, my "plant guy" noted, but we had a brutal winter, and I did not lace them in a sheltered spot, nor did I wrap them in burlap for good measure.



Potting Table and herbs

I did learn something from our extremely cold and snowy winter.  The wind driven snow drifts on the deck gave me a visual map of what the wind patterns are.  This was helpful in the placement of plants that can withstand a breezier spot to sit and grow.

So, what do I currently have outside? On the balcony I have a table with some herbs and succulents: Parsley, mint and a small pepper plant sit with some annuals in small pots.  I do have a rose bush...the kind that line the Westside highway...and I replaced the hibiscus with a hearty variety called "Mallow" with huge red blossoms that will survive the winter with some trimming.


On the deck I have my cast iron potting table that also holds some herbs: rosemary, parsley and oregano with another pot of flowering annuals and a coleus that I will take inside later in the year.  The hostas were joined by a fern from the altar of Christ Church...was it there for Easter?  I am not sure, but I also have another Easter Lily that is summering on the deck.  I hope it will become a yearly roof bloomer. Two tomato plants with basil and two eggplants are an experiment to see if I can have some fresh homegrown produce. So far, I have had two tomatoes and made some wonderful mint/basil pesto for my linguini.




In my problem corner, I have purchased a "stoneplant" that the above referenced "plant guy" has assured me will do well.  I am not a fan of its looks, but if it thrives, I will be happy.  I will miss the hydrangeas and the lilacs I wanted to grow, but I think I will come to love the plants that survive.