A new plant guide developed by University of Melbourne researchers will assist Australian homeowners and landscape architects in crafting rooftop gardens, which help to cool cities and reduce air pollution.

The guide, titled the The Burnley Green Roof Plant Guide, has been created with urban gardeners and landscapers in mind. It gives Australians a far more streamlined approach to crafting a verdant oasis atop their homes. The free guide accounts for warmer conditions in the wake of climate change, with drought-tolerant succulents, robust perennials and spectacular flowering annuals included within.

Associate Professor John Rayner, who was the guide’s Lead Author, believes green roofs will reap major benefits for Australia’s built environment, providing the correct plants are selected.

“A lack of knowledge has been a barrier to the uptake of green roofs as they tend to be hotter, drier and windier than at ground level, creating challenging conditions for plants to thrive,” he says.

Created following some 15 years of research and plant trials, the guide comprises information and images on 180 plants for different green roof types, ranging from shallow, lightweight systems for stormwater benefits through to more complex green roofs for amenity and wellbeing. Case studies of notable green roofs, including  Victoria’s Parliament House, Sky Park in Melbourne Quarter and a rooftop urban farm are also included.

“There’s very little knowledge about what types of plants do well on green roofs. It’s different to gardening at ground level,” says Evergreen Infrastructure Director, Michael Casey.

This guide will help green roof practitioners and designers as it includes tried and tested green roof species that do well under Australian conditions,”

Rayner believes government funding and backing has been essential to the production of the guide, with the text funded through the Hort Innovation Hort Frontiers Green Cities Fund, with support from the City of Melbourne and the Victorian State Government.

“Programs such as Hort Innovation’s Green Cities Fund are essential in developing solutions to the challenges of rapidly warming, and drying, climate and ensuring we have liveable cities,” Associate Professor Rayner said.

“We encourage designers to use the guide in their green roof designs and build on this knowledge by adding plants with similar traits and from habitats that match green roof conditions.”

The Burnley Green Roof Plant Guide is the culmination of years of experiments by University of Melbourne researchers and observations of plants on green roofs in Australia and internationally. Co-authors are Associate Professor Claire Farrell, Professor Nick Williams and Dr Rachael Bathgate. 

The free Burnley Green Roof Plant Guide can be downloaded here.