Our living roof of sedum and wild strawberry plants is thriving nicely. Some interloper plants are growing there, too: pretty purple flowers whose seeds were deposited by birds. There are other pretty flowers in our garden that have sprung up along pathways. I like the choice of flowers and location the birds have made. The living roof was a challenge to create due to the slope of the roof and also also because of the structural reinforcement required to support it. A lot of consideration goes into waterproofing, and the plants must be able to withstand heat and drought--and also freezing temperatures. But it has been worth it, not just in terms of beauty and blending in with the environment. The water run-off is reusable. It flows into a cistern. The roof also attracts birds, bees and butterflies. And it provides great insulation. By choice, our new house has no air-conditioning built into the house. And because of the roof and good insulation throughout the house, we usually dont need to either cool or heat our house. When the indoor temperature gets too warm we can fill the portable swamp cooler with water and instantly enjoy a cool breeze. For those of you who have never heard of a swamp cooler, it is an evaporative fan cooler. You fill the tank with water and set the desired fan speed. The water-cooled air that blows out can lower temperatures around you by a relative 10 to 30 degrees. The new one I have is far better than the one I bought twenty years ago. It has more fan speed choices, a mist option, and can rolled from room to room. Swamp coolers are not meant to cool an entire house, just the room you are in. It works well for us and is a whole lot cheaper than installing and running air-conditioning that would not be used that often in Sausalito. (I sound like I should be selling swamp coolers!)
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 22:11:26 +0000
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