From the Blog

Much ado about gardening! Shakespeare’s flowery prose inspires rooftop oasis for children’s hospital patients

Posted on July 15, 2014 //

by EMILY HEWARD, Manchester Evening News, June 25, 2014

The Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital's rooftop garden Photo: Sean Hansford Source: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

The Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital’s rooftop garden
Photo: Sean Hansford
Source: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

The sensory space is being built by Manchester Metropolitan University students and Unilever staff as part of the Manchester Children’s Book Festival

Shakespeare’s flowery prose has inspired a new rooftop garden being built for young patients at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Plants and herbs mentioned in some of the Bard’s most famous plays will be grown in the sensory space, which is being created as part of Manchester Children’s Book Festival.

Poorly patients will be able to visit it to learn why fennel was mentioned in Hamlet, or what the connection is between Othello and lettuce, as part of the hospital school’s curriculum.

Sarah Naismith, the hospital’s head of charity, said: “The hospital school and therapeutic and specialised play services were keen for the garden to be educational, as well as therapeutic and a place for patients to have fun.

“The Shakespearean theme is a wonderful way to engage the patients.”

Among the plants will be thyme from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, lavender from A Winter’s Tale, rosemary from King Lear and parsley from The Taming of the Shrew.

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Rooftop play area proposed for Primary school

Posted on May 20, 2014 //

by JOHN-PAUL HOLDEN, Edinburgh Evening News, May 15, 2014

Plans for the garden space Image: comp Source: www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com

Plans for the garden space Image: comp
Source: www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com

PUPILS are to go “up on the roof” in a bid to ease the Capital’s schools crush.

Education chiefs have proposed building a rooftop playground at Flora Stevenson Primary, which has been lined up for emergency expansion work amid soaring demand for spots in overcrowded classrooms.

The unique “rooftop garden” would be situated on top of a new teaching block set to be erected to reduce acute accommodation pressure caused by rising rolls.

City bosses hope the development will allow new classrooms to be provided while averting a reduction in overall playground space.

Parents at the Victorian-era school have welcomed the plans, which draw inspiration from similar projects in Japan, Germany, Scandinavia and England.

Lindsay Law, who has children in P3 and P5 at Flora Stevenson, and is parent representative on the city’s education committee, said: “I think we’re all excited that the council are looking at other possibilities to make up for the loss of playground space when the new classrooms are built.

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The first UK futuristic rooftop caravan hotel is a growing success

Posted on May 20, 2014 //

by NORAH LINDSAY, CaravanTimes, May 16, 2014

View of a Retro Rocket caravan on the rooftop Photo: Brooks Guesthouse Source: www.brooksguesthousebristol.com

View of a Retro Rocket caravan on the rooftop
Photo: Brooks Guesthouse
Source: www.brooksguesthousebristol.com

The Brooks Guesthouse in Bristol has recently installed Rocket caravan rooftop hotels in their hotel package, and in just under a month, the retro hotels have been a flying success.

Late last month, (27 April), a boutique hotel in Bristol, the Brooks Guesthouse was approached by the British aluminium caravan owners Retro Rockets, who proposed the idea of quirky hotel caravans on the roof of the hotel.

The installation process of the caravans was quite a sight, as the silver caravans had to be hoisted up by a crane into place. Being the first ever rooftop caravan hotel in Europe, Brooks Guesthouse’s ‘Rooftop Rockets’ hotel option has become the latest major Bristol attraction.

CaravanTimes got talking to Carla Brooks, co-owner of the boutique Brooks Guesthouse to see just how good the rooftop caravan hotels have been doing.

Carla said: “They have been booked out every night that they have been open since the 2 May and we have good bookings for the future but we still have availability.”

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Corporate roof garden trend gains pace

Posted on May 13, 2014 //

by SARAH COSGROVE, Hosticulture Week, May 2, 2014

Battersea Power Station office and residential roof gardens Image: Andy Sturgeon Source: www.hortweek.com

Battersea Power Station office and residential roof gardens
Image: Andy Sturgeon
Source: www.hortweek.com

Benefits of green roofs increasingly recognised by developers reinvigorating dead spaces, say leading garden designers.

Businesses are increasingly investing in roof gardens on top of corporate buildings to boost their business and benefit staff.

John Lewis opens a roof garden on its Oxford Street store on 3 May to celebrate its 150th anniversary, while garden designer Andy Sturgeon has revealed his designs for three Battersea Power Station office and residential roof gardens.

Construction is underway for the Gillespies-designed Sky Garden on top of London’s “Walkie Talkie” building (20 Fenchurch Street) and at a public roof garden on the new Canary Wharf Crossrail station.

RHS young designer of the year 2013 Tony Woods designed the John Lewis garden, with his company Garden Club London building it. The garden will be open to the public for 15 weeks for a series of events including a World Cup party.

Woods designed around a pop-up juice bar, restaurants and a kitchen and toilet block that had been airlifted onto the roof, where schoolchildren will grow vegetables and salads. Home-grown strawberries, rosemary and lavender will go to the caterers.

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Rooftop Film Club wows London

Posted on May 8, 2014 //

by JASON PALMER, Entertainment Focus, May 7, 2014

Rooftop Film Club Source: www.rooftopfilmclub.com

Rooftop Film Club
Source: www.rooftopfilmclub.com

The Rooftop Film Club have returned with a brand new line-up that brings a summer of movies to lucky Londoners. The pop up film event (in association with British Airways) takes place across exclusive rooftop venues – the Bussey Building in Peckham Rye and the Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch – from May 1 until September 30, 2014.
Last night we attended the screening of Amy Heckerling’s seminal 90s classic Clueless; starring Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd.

The weather proved to be great given its unpredictability, with rain only affecting the last 5mins of the film. The crowds slowly amassed at the top of the Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch, a great hidden gem with a gloriously cosy rooftop packed full of food, drink, great sights and the perfect chill-out area.

As darkness fell, so our experience began with an eager crowd rushing to their seats for ‘Chick-Flick Tuesday’, and a sold-out screening of one of the 90s most endearing and peerless comedies.

Each reveller gets to sit on an exclusive British Airways directors-style chair and there are blankets and ponchos readily available should the elements conspire against you. Armed with a delicious drink from the bar and our special infra-red headsets for that ‘in-flight’ experience, the film began as the London skyline gleamed proudly around us. It’s also worth mentioning just how helpful and nice the staff were – something that too often gets overlooked at big events like these.

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Rooftop poppy field planted to mark WW1 centenary

Posted on April 29, 2014 //

by ROBERT CUMBER, GetWestLondon, April 29, 2014

The roof of The Big Yellow Self Storage Companys warehouse in Brentford, on which thousands of poppy seeds have been planted in the shape of a giant '100' to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War Source: www.getwestlondon.co.uk

The roof of The Big Yellow Self Storage Companys warehouse in Brentford, on which thousands of poppy seeds have been planted in the shape of a giant ’100′ to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War
Source: www.getwestlondon.co.uk

Thousands of poppies have been planted on top of a storage depot in Brentford in the shape of a giant ’100′.

A spectacular rooftop display has been planted to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

Thousands of poppy seeds have been sown in a lawn on top of The Big Yellow Self Storage Company’s warehouse beside the M4 in Great West Road, Brentford.

It is hoped they will bloom in time for the 100th anniversary of Britain’s entry into the conflict, on August 4, providing a colourful reminder of the huge human sacrifice on battlefields across the globe.

The seeds were planted last Wednesday (April 23) by roofing firm Wild About Roofs, in partnership with the storage company and Hounslow Chamber of Commerce, with sponsorship from Boningale GreenSky, Sedum Supply and Quilliam Property Services.

Daniel MacAuliffe, managing director of Wild About Roofs, said: “We wanted to mark this year in a unique way. By sowing the poppy seeds and watching them grow over the coming months into a spectacular and bright 100 this is a great way to show our support to the 100 Years of Remembrance.

“Once the poppies are in full bloom we will be hosting an official launch at The Big Yellow Self Storage Company and have a special guest to unveil the ‘100’ in its full glory.”

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