Sedum Roof
From the very early days of DGO, we were very keen to make our rooms blend in to the gardens we were building in. The very early incarnations of our sedum installations involved planting dozens of individual plug plants which produced very strong varied roofs but it did take a while to grow over the whole roof. We now use sedum turf which magically transforms the roofs instantly. There is a clever egg-cup type drainage layer that we use to retain some water during drier periods and a gravel border that protects the sedum from drying out at the edge of the building too much. An aluminium perforated upstand saves it all from slipping into the gutter at the back.
The Sedum plants can survive long periods without rain which is what makes them so perfect for the roof setting. We advise that an annual weed is a good idea however we have many customers who leave them and see what happens.
Not only does the sedum look fantastic all year round – you will get small flowers in the spring/summer, and colour all year round from the low growth – but it really helps with the heat build up in rooms if you have very early morning sun.
Details
Various Sedum roof images
This room has actually had both styles of sedum roof installed. The green area is an existing plug plant roof from 2018 and the newer paler roof is an extension from 2026 using sedum turf.
2026 installation showing the diversity of plants the turf arrives with. Depending on the time of year really affects which have taken the strongest initially but the variation is always interesting.
A perfect setting for the sedum. As the room was lower than the house, the roof was a large expanse of black rubber which jarred with the rural tree lined setting. By laying the sedum roof, it immediately soften the room.
This is a 2.4 x 2.4m Toby office with a Sedum roof. You can see how it softens the roof line and blurs the edges of the building.