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Landscape Design: 10 Simple Layouts for Summer Roof Gardens

Roof gardens are superheroes: they insulate homes, filter air, reduce noise, cut CO2, create habitats, and slow fires. They also add outdoor living space. Here are 10 design ideas for a roof garden.

Portable Room Dividers

Julie Weiss roof garden — Designer Julie Weiss divides her lower Manhattan roof garden with planters into four rooms for dining and lounging in sun and shade. Photo by Nicole Franzen.

See Garden Visit: At Home with Julie Weiss.

Grasses Gone Wild

Brooklyn roof garden grasses — Marni Majorelle’s Fort Greene roof garden uses perennial grasses and drought-tolerant perennials for insulation and a wild look. Photo by Marni Majorelle.

Plant palette includes creeping phlox, succulents, Seslaria autumnalis, thyme varieties, Mexican feather grass, lavender, dianthus, Amsonia hubrichtii. Photo by Marni Majorelle.

See Brooklyn Oasis: A City Roof Garden, Before & After.

Low-Profile Greenery

San Francisco succulents — Low-growing succulents framed by drainage rocks on a San Francisco rooftop by Feldman Architecture.

Artificial Grass

Brooklyn rooftop meadow — Julie Farris subdivides a Cobble Hill roof garden into zones: dining, living, play area with artificial grass, mini meadow. Photo by Sophia Moreno-Bunge.

See Garden Designer Visit: A Rooftop Meadow, Brooklyn Edition.

Garage Upgrade

Hydroponic garage roof — Geoffrey Nimmer planted a hydroponic roof garden above a garage on Shelter Island. “Wonderful to look at, keeps space below cool.” Photo by Gentl & Hyers.

See Garden Visit: A Design Couple’s Shelter Island Retreat.

The Glass Ceiling

Rotterdam sunroom — Astrid Hölzer’s Rotterdam four-season garden with enclosed 39x39-foot sunroom and reinforced glass roof. Photo courtesy of Astrid Hölzer.

See A Rooftop Garden for All Seasons in Rotterdam.

Clever Camouflage

Manhattan roof garden privacy — Melissa Baker and Jon Handley of Pulltab Design use walls, canvas screens, and plantings for privacy while maximizing panoramic views. Photo by Bilyana Dimitrova.

See A Manhattan Roof Garden with a Panoramic View.

Home Spa

Roof spa with sauna — Alison Cayne transforms a terrace into a roof spa with outdoor barrel sauna from Northern Lights. Photo by Douglas Lyle Thompson.

See Before & After: A 1-Month Makeover for Alison Cayne’s NYC Garden.

Hedge Fun

London roof garden boxwood — Marianna Kennedy’s Spitalfields roof garden features miniature boxwood hedges five flights up. Photo by Christine Hanway.

See A Secret Roof Garden in Spitalfields.

Transparent Privacy

Acrylic privacy screen — Kim Hoyt uses custom stainless steel frame with translucent acrylic sheets for privacy without losing light on a Beekman Place terrace. Photo by Dan Wonderly Imaging.

Read more at Architects’ Secrets: 10 Best Ways to Create Privacy in a Garden.

For installation details, see Hardscaping 101: Green Roofs.

About Garden: Garden Design Software Reviews: Best Programs for Homeowners and Professionals; Garden Landscape Design Elements: Pathways, Water Structures, and Plant Selection; Smart Design Ideas to Maximize Small Garden Spaces; Garden Design Principles for a Cohesive, Beautiful Outdoor Space; Formal Garden Landscape Design: Structure, Symmetry, and Stone; Small Garden Landscape Design: Big Impact in Limited Space; Cottage Garden Landscape Design: Romantic Abundance with Strategic Structure; Chinese Garden Design: Principles for a Serene Sanctuary; Pink Garden Design: Monochromatic Magic from Blush to Magenta; Simple Landscape Design: Mastering Balance, Contrast, Repetition, Rhythm, and Focal Points

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