Green roof and blue skies in Fowey

View over sedum roof of the Fowey Estuary

“Whatever the time of year you chose to visit the Fowey Estuary you are sure to find something going on.” That comment comes from the Fowey online website and it has certainly seemed that way to us whenever we have been roofing in the area. Not only does Fowey provide mooring for leisure and commercial craft, its position and history attracts visitors in their numbers to stroll through the village and up onto the surrounding hills or to take to the water and admire the scenery.

Our latest call to the area was to revisit a green roofing project which we had installed some four years earlier. By opting for a green roof the property’s owners were able to visually extend the garden towards the water, helping to seamlessly blend land and sea. Sedum roofs are largely self-maintaining but it pays to check on them from time to time and to carry out any light maintenance required such as removing the odd weed or raking away any autumn leaves which may have come to rest on the roof. Our maintenance visit coincided with one of those typical Fowey days that have helped to make it so attractive to visitors; offering blue skies and calm waters.

Sedum roofs are becoming increasingly popular both for private and public buildings and it’s not hard to see why. Providing a living cover which attracts wildlife, sedum roofs have good insulating properties whilst still being light enough not to put a strain on most structures.

Not only that, the water retaining properties of a living roof mean that rainfall is absorbed and then released slowly, helping to reduce the chance of flooding. That means that sedum or green roofs are ecologically and visually friendly, boosting the local environment whilst helping structures to blend into their surroundings. And if that wasn’t enough, as succulents, sedum plants are drought resistant. So all in all they are able to cope with the vagaries of Cornwall’s weather come rain or shine.