Renovating an old garden
Renovating an old garden can be a daunting task. In September of 2006, the Scott Arboretum received an endowment for the gardens of the West House from Barbara and Giles Kemp. For the past three years, the curatorial intern and volunteers have been renovating the garden to create a lovely example of a residential-style landscape with two intimate entertaining spaces. This fall our curator, Andrew Bunting, insisted I pay a visit to the West House to see the evolution the garden has undergone. I was not disappointed.
There are some simple steps to follow when approaching the task of renovating an…
Plants of a Semi-intensive Green Roof
Yesterday, we discussed how the majority of the Kemp Hall green roof was planted. Today, we will explore the remaining level and the excitement that a few more inches of growing media can bring. The remaining level was planted using a different technique because it is the semi-intensive section. This portion of the roof features mounds of the growing media eight to ten inches thick allowing for planting of perennials and bulbs, and a paver area to allow tours to step out onto the roof.
To plant this portion of the roof, plugs were used instead of cuttings. Plugs were chosen…
Planting 100 lbs of Sedum
On Monday, we completed the installation of the 3rd green roof on the Swarthmore College campus by planting 15 different types of sedums and 7 other types of plants on the roof of the new dorm, Kemp Hall. Two different techniques were used to plant the five levels of this roof.
Four of the five levels were gently scattered with 100 lbs of 6 different types of sedum cuttings. These varieties were mixed by hand as seen in the image above.
Sedum is the most common plant chosen for extensive green roofs because it can tolerate and thrive in all of the…
