The best plants for your green roof

A green, living roof on your bin, bike or log storage unit is a great way to add additional plant life to your outdoor space. This will bring lots of benefits to your garden, including making it a friendlier habitat for wildlife, lending a helping hand to the environment and helping to tackle pollution. Not to mention – it looks nice!

Here are some ideas for plants that only need a shallow planting area of 50mm or less, and will therefore have a lovely time nestled in your green roof.  Each Bluum green roof planter has up to 90mm of planting depth available. 

Sedum and moss

Mat-forming species of sedum, sempervivum (or 'houseleeks') and moss suit a green roof well. Common sedum species used include sedum acre, sedum rupestre, and sedum album. Planting sedums and moss is an excellent a way of having evergreen plants as a feature covering your living roof - making it green in name and in nature.

Sedum acre, also known as golden moss, produces lovely yellow flowers through the summer, giving a nice splash of colour to your roof. It also can look pretty spilling over the roof and down the sides, for an even more natural look.

Sedum makinoi, also known as golden Japanese stonecrop, also flowers in summer adding a splash of colour, and all year round. Its attractive small, rounded leaves make a nice addition to your garden for an element of that Japanese style.

Crocus

Crocuses are perennials and will flower every spring. They suit being planted in a shallow planting area. They also provide a good early flowering food source for our good friend the bee. What's not to like?! There are a few variations to choose from, including pickwick, snowbunting and albus, allowing you to choose from a selection of colours. Their short-stemmed, elegant flowers add great colour to any living roof.

Freesia

These lovely perennials flower from June to September. They will flower about 12 to 14 weeks after planting so get them planted in the spring. They are a bit trickier to grow so can be best to buy them cut, or check out the Royal Horticultural Society website for tips on how to grow them from bulbs.

Aromatic Herbs

Famous for thriving in arid and stony environments, fragrant herbs are an ideal pick for your green roof, bringing scents to your outdoor space and offering a ready stash for keen cooks. Varieties like Common Thyme and Greek Oregano serve superbly as ground-hugging plants in sunny spots, typically reaching heights between 10 and 30cm.

Sisyrinchium

Also known as yellow-eyed grass, blue-eyed grass or golden-eyed grass, these stunning plants from the iris family are very easy to grow. Its tall stems with cluster-flowers make it an extremely cheery addition to your garden when the flowers are in bloom. All year-round, the foliage is green and it’s a perennial and will flower every year.

There are plenty of options to get your green roof looking, bright, colourful and full of life. Read more about the benefits of a green roof.