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All hands on roof . Ellen Erdreich evanesce on lessons in sustainability to her granddaughter Sofia , 5 , by embed a variety of sedums on the roof of her townhouse in Birmingham , Alabama , designed by her Word , a local architect . Greenery helps cool down the house in the scorch summers and absorbs rainwater during downpours , which minimizes runoff and the need for irrigation .
When former Alabama Congressman Ben Erdreich and his wife Ellen decided in 2002 to regress home to Birmingham after 22 years in Washington , D.C. , they wanted to populate in the heart of the city to enjoy the downtown revival . Moreover , they were interested in explore a new stylus of metropolis dwell and asked their Word , Jeremy , a Birmingham architect , to design a present-day townhouse that would be “ as green as potential . ” Although loft - style apartments in renovate manufacturing plant building had of late become pop in this former steel capital of the South , no individual single - family unit domicile had been built downtown in 60 or so years .
The garden program call for a large rectangular garden .
“ Of naturally , the greenest matter about the firm is just the fact that it is downtown , ” say Jeremy Erdreich , “ so my parents can take the air everywhere and do n’t have to use their car . ”
The site the Erdreichs chose was a challenge : a 25 - pes - by-140 - pes strip show of parking lot on second Avenue North that back onto an bowling alley and is near one of the metropolis ’s highway connectors . But it is across the street from their Word ’s o_ce and near the old , brick in high spirits - rise buildings where both Ben ’s and Ellen ’s antecedent dwell and worked more than a hundred old age ago when Birmingham was a rich boomtown that resembled twist - of - the - century New York . “ We were come back to a place that had been our kinfolk plate , ” Ellen says . “ It had special meaning for us . ”
Dominated by a raised plantation owner with black bamboo and a fountain
From the commencement of the design process , garden were to be an all-important part of the townhouse . And they were especially important to Ellen , an avid gardener . She had a long indirect request list that her son and Michael Steiner , a local landscape painting fashion designer , had to consider in be after the gardens , from “ moving water that made a noise ” to “ tree and shrubs that grow cursorily . ” In a typical row house , luminosity and air record the mansion either from the front or the back , but Jeremy design a three - story , open - aviation atrium to bring brightness into the plaza of the new house , which was last completed in 2007 .
Go Green in the City
“ Because of the atrium , during the daytime hours , my parents in general do n’t need to habituate lights , which cut down dramatically on electrical energy , ” said Jeremy . “ storey - to - ceiling meth sliders spread the rooms to the atrium , which even in the warmth of summertime is cool and suspicious , lessening the need for air conditioning in the home . ” The atrium is a private place where Ellen sometimes has teatime while in her bathrobe . It is planted with large - leaved bamboo and a Nipponese aralia . A camelia is espaliered on the wall ; and a creeping Libyan Islamic Group vine is flourishing , its delicate green fingers already touch beyond the second floor . Belgian paving blocks used for the atrium level are reprocess and set in moxie to improve the airfoil permeability , sending less water into the drains .
Though Jeremy has not done a elaborated monitoring of the utilities in the star sign , he believes that the shallow green cap - plant with sedum , phlox and a lovely bloodless groundcover rise ( Rosa Snow CarpetR ) - has indeed cut down the pauperism for heating and cooling in the theatre . “ The cost of putting in the green roof was three times what a normal rubber cap would have cost , ” pronounce Jeremy . “ We had to expend an Atlanta installer , because we could n’t see any licenced installers in Birmingham . But , as more and more people ut in green roof , hopefully it will be easier to happen certify local installers and the cost will come down . ” ( The new regional socialsecurity mall in Birmingham , complete just after the Erdreich townhouse , includes a declamatory green roof . )
Ellen describes the principal garden between the house and the garage as her “ haven ” in the city , a place to experience and relish the interchange season . And indeed , the direction she and Michael have designed it , there is color and fragrance in the garden year - round . Originally , Jeremy and Michael had hoped to incorporate runoff water from the service department roof into the recycling water arrangement in the two pools , but it proved too costly . alternatively , Michael used a swale to grab the roof overspill and lead it to the primary drain near the firm . He filled the area in and around the depression with fragrant , wet - fuck aboriginal plant — such as swampland azalea , sweetshrub and leucothoe - from Louisiana plantswoman Margie Jenkins . In the mixing too are plantings of Virginia sweetspire that Michael disseminate , which grow prominent fall foliation from crimson - burgundy to yellow - orange .
Between the main planetary house and the service department , as well as an informal atrium to provide light and air to the nub of the townhouse .
Along with the aboriginal are Asiatic plant kind that Ellen loves . One of her darling is aStyrax japonica , which produces a profusion of lilliputian , fragrant white Vanessa Stephen - shaped flowers in the spring . “ This yr , ” she enounce , “ it was so glorious , it gave me jackass bumps . ” She planted the tree diagram by the kitchen windows so she can see it when she ’s both inside and outdoors . And she has enjoyed the black bamboo in the lift planter , which has quickly sprouted to more than 15 feet and bends slightly now , offer subtlety on a red-hot Birmingham summertime daytime over the itinerary leading to the garage . Asian plants — sweetbox , varieties of oriental false hellebore andDaphe odora‘Alba’—are responsible for a profusion of fragrant flower in late winter .
Similar materials were used in all the garden areas , such as close weather sheet of COR - TEN steel , utilize to fence off the property from the neighboring parking fate , while allowing airflow . In the foreground are fragrant , moisture - loving aboriginal plant , such as swamp azalea and sweetshrub , affix by Asian trees and shrub that the possessor particularly favor .
Ellen wanted a garden that she could take care of herself , and the plant she and Michael chose are fairly self - sufficient and have outlive Birmingham ’s mild winter well . But in the retiring few year , Ellen has an increasingly competent helper — her 5 - year - old granddaughter Sofia , who has become an astute student of changes in the garden . Every sojourn to her nanna ’s household is an escapade . “ What ’s blossom in the garden now ? ” she always inquire . Ellen is passing on to Sofia her love of nature as well as significant lessons in sustainability . “ It is critical for all of us that children learn to love the land , ” Ellen said , “ and to ensure that it ’s there - for their grandchildren . ”
