http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-London-Flower-Shows/RHS-London-Autumn-Harvest-Show

I will be going along to listen to an interesting speaker from London who has caught my attention lately as she is encouraging a new breed of gardener in London.

Helen Babbs lives in Holloway, North London, in a first-floor flat with a small roof garden. Inspired by the launch of a Living Roofs for Wildlife campaign she decides to transform her rooftop into an organic, wildlife-friendly, edible garden. A complete gardening novice, she embarked upon a year of gardening and nature watching and has shared her experiences in an interesting book called My Garden, the City and Me Rooftop Adventures in the Wilds of London

Helen has received numerous positive reviews in national newspapers and publications and has recently started a blog for The Guardian on ‘a year in a window box’.http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/helen-babbs

Helen will  be reading excerpts from her book in the Harvest Hangout at the RHS Autumn Show and joins conversations in Lindley Wood’s Foraging Forum plus she will also be signing My Garden, the City and Me .

Great to see the RHS embracing roof top gardening and gardening in small spaces as  many people in London really do not have the space – or time – to engage in gardening on a big scale but would like to understand how to grow a few veggies or plants.

http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781604691672

Food production is now the largest consumer of land and water resources on our planet and accounts for 20% of the worlds carbon emissions.

Watch their clever video about the story of lettuce production in the  USA . I plan to send this link to the CEOs of Tesco and Asda to suggest that perhaps they might use some of their huge profits to set up ventures like this in the UK!

http://brightfarms.com/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/09/supermarket-rooftop-vegetable-garden

A recent RHS study has shown that rooftop gardening can help combat climate change by lowering surrounding air temperatures. RHS scientist, Tijana Blanusa, who undertook the RHS research, says: ‘With our climate getting warmer, gardeners will be playing an even more important part in helping reduce the effects.’

‘Getting planting right in urban spaces, which can be very limited, can have a major effect in not only helping reduce urban temperatures but will also provide other environmental benefits.

Urban gardeners wanting to make the most of their outside space and looking for tips on how green-roofing can work for them should visit  the 2011 RHS Plant and Design Show on 15th-16th February.

For the first time at this show, there will be two rooftop gardens, showing how gardeners can make the most of this valuable space.

The modern-style rooftop gardens are being designed by two rising stars of the gardening world: RHS Young Designer of the Year 2010, Hugo Bugg and Melissa Jolly who won a top award at BBC Gardeners’ World Live in 2010.

Further information

Venue

RHS Horticultural Halls, Greycoat Street and Vincent Square, London SW1. Find directions and travel information

Opening times

• Tuesday 15 February: 10am – 7pm
• Wednesday 16 February: 10am – 5pm

Toronto, Canada has become the first city in the Western Hemisphere to mandate green roofs. New buildings with a total floor area of more than 21,527 square feet will, depending on their size, have to cover from 20 to 60 percent of their roofs with vegetation. A 2005 study calculated that if 75 percent of the flat roofs in the city were greened,Toronto  could reap $37 million a year in savings on strom water management, energy bills and costs related to urban heat island effects.

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/green_roofs_are_starting_to_sprout_in_american_cities__/2346/

This was one of the conclusions at at the World Green Roof Congress held in London this week. At this intriguing event a paper was presented by researchers from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading that clearly demonstrated the role that roof and wall vegetation can play in reducing summer-time air temperatures.

The study showed the importance of roof and wall vegetation in decreasing summer-time air temperatures and in counteracting urban heat island effects. They achieve this by cooling surrounding areas through evapo-transpiration, a plant’s equivalent to sweating.

“Green roofs are not just about looking good,” said Dr Blanusa. “There is much more interest recently in providing additional ecological and economic functions such as regulating internal building temperatures. But this research emphasises the potential in helping reducing air temperatures. If only every building had a green roof and a green wall.”

http://www.worldgreenroofcongress.com/day1-programme.html

http://press.rhs.org.uk/RHS-Science-and-Advice/Press-releases/Green-Roof-Substrate-Research.aspx

http://www.greenroof.co.uk/index.html

Green or red – it doesn’t matter what colour – they all go to making chutneys, salsas, sauce or are eaten in delicious home grown salads.

Anyone can grow tomatoes – just follow a few simple steps  http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/vegetables/tomato.shtml

Harvesting fresh produce is a unique experience that literally brings home the importance and value of   sourcing quality produce that will keep you and the planet healthy.

This can be challenging for people living in cities but in London more initiatives are sprouting every day.Like this supermarket in Crouch End, north London which has transformed its roof into an organic vegetable garden.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10424392

The situation is more developed in the US where rooftop gardening is  big business.This amusing video about a tale of two tomatoes makes you think about the future possibilities for home grown food in cities.http://www.cityscapefarms.com/videos/

With 80% of people living in towns in the UK and 23% of each person’s carbon footprint coming from the production of food and its transport, this idea would solve some big environmental issues. It is estimated that a 30 storey vertical farm could feed 50,000 people which means that 150 vertical farms could  feed the whole of London. Add to this the fact that 80% of London’s food is imported and the potential gains look extremely attractive.

Higher temperatures in  cities caused by concrete and tarmac absorbing heat and releasing it slowly, provide a longer growing season and improved yield.Rainwater could be harvested on roofs and networks of pipes would  allow the water to drip through to each level, irrigating crops and removing the need for high water bills – this system would actually use 5% of the amount of water needed for a conventional farm.

Currently 50% of the world’s population lives in towns and cities but by 2050 this is estimated to rise to around 80% – the Hanging Gardens of Babylon could see a global revival.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6676809.ece