Ready for a Green Roof? Try This!

Ok, this is a DIY project for LIDers who want to try out a green roof, but may not be ready or able to tackle something full-scale.  How about a green doghouse, or shed?  This is a no-power-tools-required project that can be done over a weekend, or with a few hours here and there. 

Step 1:  Cover the roof that came on the structure with roofing felt cut to size with a utility knife.  Attach it using gavanized roofing nails.

 

Step 2: Creat two frames to hold potting soil mix (regular soil is too heavy) by attaching cedar or treated 1x4s to the front , sides and ridge of the roof using galvanized nails.  Add a 1x4 board across the middle of each side, horizontally, to help reduce soil erosion when it rains. 

Step 3:  Fill in the frames created in Step 2 with a thin layer of gravel overlain by potting soil.  Cut chicken wire with wire clippers to cover the frames, staple chiken wire to the wood to hold the soil in place.  (At our house, the dog recently destroyed a bean bag chair, so we amended the soil with those tiny beads to improve its drainage and weight!)

Step 4:  Plant succulents or low growing plants that are adapted to the climate in your area.  Look around your garden - what already grows and spreads without being watered?  Use it!  Shake excess soil from the roots, snip a hole in the chicken wire, and carefully (the wire is sharp!) tuck the roots in.  Finish by filling the spaces between plants with sheet moss.  The plants will quickly cover the moss and hang over the edges.

Step 5:  Water about twice a week intially, until plants are establisted.  Feed during growing season with 20-20-20 water soluble fertiler to keep it looking its best.

Depending on how well the structure is supported, you could try this on a playhouse, shed, chicken coop or detached garage.  Larger structures will likely need additional support.  Have fun and get green with this great LID project.

This project was edited from Southern Living's June 2010 edition, by Joyce Butterworth.

What's the Difference?

These photos are not intended to pick on Home Depot but are representative of most big box development. Question: What's the difference in these two photos?   The top photo is typical of what we see most commonly in Oklahoma commercial development - big box, big parking lot, big runoff.  But what of the second photo - same company but a very different approach.   Is it geography? Is it rainfall?  A unforeseeable landscaper strike?  The answer is actually none of the above, but rather Policy.  The second photo represents development in a community that asks more, and recieves what they ask for. And not that they ask, but they require, through codification, that their community be cared for in specific ways.  I was watching "Cars" with my kids and found motivation from the local lawyer asking "Are we worth having this done right? Is our town worth it?" when the residents were satisfied with status quo. 

I would like to ask our councilors, our mayor, our public works officials: Is our town worth it?  Is our river worth it?  Asking for funding for river development is somewhat futile if we won't also take enough pride in our community to say - do more than the minimum.  The difference is not what you see, its what you don't see:  the policies and codes that say our community is worth the effort.

What are the most common LID practices in Tulsa?

I had someone ask me this question recently and it made me run around town to take some more pictures. LID that has been designed intentially to improve stormwater quality or affect stormwater quantity is not easy to find. What is more common are aesthetic landscaping features that accomplish this task. One example is canopy cover. Tulsa has long reaching goals for canopy cover and recovery/replacement of trees lost in 2007's ice storm. A great side effect is that canopy cover, when trees are in leaf, significantly reduces stormwater runoff. The effect is huge compared to areas of pavement. Some common examples are trees planted in medians, which only achieve the desired effect when they overhang roadways and sidewalks. Here are some local examples:But there are places that go above and beyond when placing trees. One of my favorites is the area surrounding One and Two Warren Place, at 61st and Yale. The roadway to the right is one example. They have included a mix of deciduous trees (median, right of photo) which affect stormwater runoff during parts of the year, and also evergreens, which achieve the same effect year round. And if you have the chance to visit, take a look behind One Warren Place (1st photo above) and see the surface parking. The plantings could make you forget you were in an urban setting, and are a far cry from the standard surface parking you would see downtown, or anywhere else for that matter.