The Roof Garden

garden@risc.org.uk

Introduction

Story of the Roof Garden

Visits: Schools and Groups

Open days and Volunteers

Photo Albums:
Peter Savage Garden photography

Plants

Inula Helenium, has been a chief ingredient in cough mixture for centruries and has even been used to treat TB

The Roof Garden holds a selection of about 140 plants, all of of which are useful as food, medicine, herbs, fibre, wood, wax, dyes and more.

see a list of the species used in the garden
Click on the images in the gallery below to find out more about some of our favourite plants from the roof
Or go to the Plants a for Future database to learn about other species of usefull perrennial plants you can grow in the UK.

Medical references with thanks to Plants for a Future and Amanda Dean

Some of the 140 species of useful plants on the RISC ROOF

Emmer Wheat, one of the oldest cultivated plants in thw world.

Black bamboo, beautifully coloured, used for fabrication of ornate objects, many medicinal properties, edible, also a strong building material
Angelica root, together with lemon balm makes a great tonic to keep out those winter colds
This Turkish Rocket plant is a perennial & has been growing peppery salad leaves for years
Spikenard berries, edible, the roots of this plant are widely used in traditional North American herbal medicine
Maize, this amazing plant from Yucatan Mexico has become a staple crop to most of Latin America and Africa. Read more about Maize in this article from Worldwatch
Comfrey, this deep rooted plants has very rich leaves which when rotted makes the best plant food.
Ugni berries on the Chilean Myrtle, really delicious fruit on a hardy shrub
Blue Sausage fruits, Decaisnea Fargesii, an edible ornamental chinese shrub.
Nasturtium, these common flowers actually originate from Peru. They are easy to grow and attract beneficial insects into the garden. Peppery and lovely to eat too!
Echincacea - a popular healing plant, widely used in the america's traditionally, it is antisceptic and is used to stimulate the immune system
Pineapple sage - this mexican shrub has fragrant leaves and flowers. They are added to drinks and salads
Wasabia - Japanese horseradish, a common spice in Sushi and other japanese dishes, hot
Solomon's Seal - a beautiful and useful plant
Thyme - versatile hardy herb, aides digestion
Nettle - this common plant has many uses, its edible and attracts beneficial insects to the garden
Medlar fruits - a common fruit in the English middle ages, nutritious and tasty
Lemon balm - a fragrant herb and soothing tonic, makes a lovely tea
Purple Sage - ever wondered why we have sage and onion stuffing with rich fatty meals? Many herbs actually help us digest our food and absorb the nutrients
St John's Wort This common herb is an effective anti-depressant
Fennel Tonic herb, relieves bloating and flatulance, aniseed flavour
Potato Bean - Apios americana, with an edible tuber
False Spikenard - an unusual N American fruiting herb
Butterfly Lavender - with many traditional uses, such as in washing and as an insecticide
Black Mulberry - a delcious fruit - not to be confused with the White Mulberry, famed as food for silk worms
Chinese Yam - Attractive climber in autumn, it has an edible tuber
Spiney Pepper - Spicey seeds, also known as toothache tree. It fruited for thei first time here in 2005
Juneberry tree - Edible berry (ripe in June) with a hard useful wood. The bark taken as a tea kills intestinal worms
Lemon - This flowering citrus is overwintered in the greenhouse
Apple, Spartan. A lovely desert apple
Kiwi vine - this is a hardy mini Kiwi, it is growing well but is yet to produce any fruit
Calendula - this long flowering ornamental marigold has been widely used since ancient times to heal minor cuts and bruises
Babbinton's leek - this perennial leek has a stornger taste than the annual, and is very easy to grow
Peach - this fruits well and enjoys a sunny position here against the railings