Green roofing systems are becoming more popular in Henderson because they are environmentally beneficial and aesthetically pleasing. Generally, these systems contain layers of vegetation placed atop a building's roof. This makes for a lightweight and minimal-plant-situation "extensive" green roof that, in Henderson, should usually come with a professional landscape architect's or engineer's drawing to ensure what Mr. Miklos calls a "biodiversity hotspot." It's also a structure that can help reduce what the Tennessee Valley Authority calls the "urban heat island effect." Picking the plant types, the proper soil depth, and the appropriate roof slope for the profile of a "sedum" in Henderson means mostly using plants that can take a lot of sun and not an especially realistic amount of water.
The next thing to consider is how much labor you are prepared to take on. Put simply, an extensive green roof is easier to maintain and less likely to need repairs. The green roof components and plants (if you use them) have a much lower potential for problems, and the plants' need for attention is so minimal that we usually just call it "no maintenance." As for an intensive green roof, you'll be operating and maintaining a rooftop garden—complete with larger plants, more (and taller) "landscaping" features, and lots of watering, pruning, and probably more than a touch of weeding. And to be frank, if you attempt to use a rooftop garden for any kind of event space, you'll want to hope for steep insurance premiums or use a moat around your rooftop.
Green roofing systems are an excellent choice for the community of Henderson, Nevada, offering significant benefits that directly impact quality of life, aesthetics, and energy efficiency. But to ensure that the installation of such a system achieves these benefits over the long term, careful selection of both the system components and the plant species that will inhabit the roof is essential. Henderson's unique topography and climate pose particular challenges that must be addressed in the design of a successful green roofing system. Not only must the chosen plant species withstand the intense solar radiation that is typical of the high desert during the summer months, but they also must be adapted to the considerably cooler and wetter conditions that typify the Henderson winter. Without such careful selection, the components of the green roofing system and the plants that inhabit it are likely not to achieve their intended purposes.
