“Planting was completed in Spring 2002 and the garden is now well established. In an area of 200 m2, over 120 species of perennial plants from around the world thrive in soil only 30cm deep. The garden supports a range of layers, from roots, through small shrubs to our miniature version of a canopy layer. Most have multiple uses: food, medicine, fuel, fibre, construction, dye, scent.

“The garden demonstrates many ways we can all reduce our environmental footprint. Features include: composting of kitchen waste from the Global Cafe, irrigation using harvested rainwater pumped by renewable energy from a solar array and wind turbine, use of recovered soil and recycled newspaper, wood, stone and plastic in its construction.”

Link to roof garden here.

“This past summer, my friends (Art and Heidi) and I tried to grow heirloom vegetables on our respective rooftops in Chicago using homemade Earthboxes. Heidi would come over every few weeks and take some photos of my plants, which she then sent me along with some shots from their roof garden.

“We’re trying to figure out how to automate the watering of all those tubs on my garage roof without spending a lot of money. Here’s what I’ve got so far: Out of a reservoir kept full with a Hudson valve, I’d run supply lines to each of the boxes. If I suck all the air out of these lines, the siphon/water level effect should keep all the tubs watered as long as the vacuum seal isn’t broken.”

See all their photos and more on Earthboxes here.