The Toughest of the Tough: Plants for Greenroofs

by Cynthia TanyanMozaic Landscapes, Sunol, CAAPLD Bay Area District Member — by **Cynthia Tanyan**
Mozaic Landscapes, Sunol, CA
APLD Bay Area District Member

The Toughest of the Tough: Plants for Greenroofs

For 20 years, Cynthia Tanyan has designed over 500 varied residential gardens throughout the SF Bay Area and beyond, including a master plan for a Stanford Lands horsepark, a rural cemetery in Massachusetts, a Native American sculpture garden, and an extensive modern greenroof.

Cynthia's designs have been featured in Sunset (she is a recipient of Sunset's "Best in the West" and "Dream Gardens" Award) and People magazine. Her designs can be seen in The American Meadow Garden, by J. Greenlee (c.2009), and Reimagining the California Lawn, by C. Bornstein.

Greenroofs are tough environments for plants as they are usually exposed to all-day sun, wind, drought conditions and have only a shallow root zone. This is similar to native conditions for many rock garden and succulent plants. Sedums of all kinds are the mainstay for greenroofs. Choose plants that are tough, stay fairly low to the ground, and don’t require much deadheading or other maintenance.