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Tom Fischer is Editor-in-Chief at Timber Press and former Editor of Horticulture magazine.

Here in Portland, it wasn't so long ago that when you told somebody you had a green roof, it meant you hadn't been up there in a while to scrape off the moss. Times have, not to put too fine a point upon it, changed. These days, it seems that green roofs are everywhere — on public buildings, corporate headquarters, and "green" houses. It's easy to see why, when you consider the benefits that green roofs confer: they improve the energy efficiency of the buildings they cover, keeping them cooler in summer and warmer in winter. They dramatically decrease water runoff. They buffer noise. They provide habitats for wildlife. And — not least — they're a heck of a lot nicer to look at than asphalt shingles.

Of course, it's natural to wonder just how much of a difference green roofs can make in a community. Try this as an exercise: the next time you're at the computer, call up a satellite photo of your town or city and zoom in close. Then take a look at the staggering amount of surface area that conventional roofs occupy. Finally, try to imagine what your community would be like if half, or a quarter, or even a tenth of the roofs were green roofs. I think it highly likely that most folks would prefer aerial vistas of living plants than, say, tar. (Which is what I look at from my office window. It is nice and shiny, though.)

If you're thinking about installing a green roof — or even if you're simply curious about why they've attracted so much attention — pick up a copy of the revised and expanded edition of Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls, by Nigel Dunnet and Noël Kingsbury. You'll find informed, detailed discussions of the reasons to build green roofs, their structural components, maintenance techniques, and the best green-roof plants. If enough people get behind the idea of green roofs, we can look forward to more urban spaces that teem with life, rather than vast urban deserts that degrade the lives of those who must inhabit them.

Sample pages from Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls (click to enlarge):

Armitage's Native Plants for North American Gardens
by Allan M. Armitage
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Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide
by Edmund C. Snodgrass and Lucie L. Snodgrass
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Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology
by Eric Grissell
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Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainably in the Garden and Designed Landscape
by Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden
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Gardening on Pavement, Tables, and Hard Surfaces
by George Schenk
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Planting the Natural Garden
by Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen
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The April 2008 issue is at right.