Our green roof, part of our Gardens Through Time, sits in a 'valley' of brick and glass, creating a unique microclimate that gets particularly hot in the summer. This year, many of the plants - even those selected for drought-tolerance - struggled to survive.
As exceptional heat and drought are predicted to become more frequent due to climate change, we've been replanting our green roof in response, asking: what does zero-water, sustainable, future-proof planting look like in London's hottest microclimates?
The plants that survived this summer all had one thing in common: succulent leaves, common among plants in hot and arid areas of the world. Our new replanting will feature succulent plant species endemic to South Africa (Lampranthus and Aloe), Mexico (Beschorneria and Agave), and Chile (Puya), to better tolerate the hot microclimate of our green roof garden.
The green roof can be viewed from our main entrance, opposite Hoxton Overground Station, under the illuminating installation of Shiv Ji (2023) by artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman.
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