Rooftop vegetable garden in a residential complex | “A green space in a concrete area”

The two rooftop terraces of the Rosemont Les Quartiers private seniors’ residence (RPA) were deserted. That was before Viviane Bouchard and Lorraine St-Marseille, two residents, set up a vegetable garden on one of them, creating a green space that would bring people together and relax.

On this rooftop garden, 18 independent or mobility-impaired residents have their own gardening bin, adapted to their conditions, and can grow vegetables, herbs and flowers with a breathtaking view of downtown Montreal. Bees, birds and butterflies also beautify the space in which no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used.

Viviane Bouchard, one of the instigators of the project, arrived at the Rosemont residence three years ago. At that time, the two terraces of the RPA were rarely used by residents, particularly because of the heat. After abandoning her space in a community garden in the Ahuntsic district last fall, Ms.^me Bouchard began to think that she could use one of the terraces to make a garden. “But not just a garden for me! A garden to serve everyone and that will ensure that there is life here,” she says.

She then teamed up with Lorraine St-Marseille, whom she met by chance during an activity, to bring her idea to fruition. M^me St-Marseille is another gardening enthusiast, having notably been part of Bouffe Action, a food security organization.

The two women pooled their experience to carry out their project, which was finally approved by the residence management last winter.

Today, a few volunteers are helping M^me Bouchard and M^me St-Marseille to take care of the rooftop vegetable garden daily. The two women claim to have accumulated 400 hours of work between them for this project from January to May. “It’s my outdoor garden that I share with everyone here,” says M^me Bouchard proudly. “It’s a green space in a concrete area.”

An ingenious system

Since the vegetable garden is located on the roof, the omnipresent sun and wind, which can cause drying out and erosion, were inevitably an issue when developing the project. The instigators and volunteers therefore installed a drip irrigation system to solve this problem. “We solved the problem of intense sun and wind by irrigating the containers,” summarizes M.^me Bouchard.

This irrigation system, started every morning by a volunteer, consists of small perforated pipes through which water passes to moisten the trays. The latter have been pierced so that they can drain and lowered to adapt them to the physical conditions of the residents. This also protects the plants, which must be dwarf, from the wind. The plants at height have been installed near the roof railings.

The residence contributed financially to the project and it “cost the residents nothing,” according to Mr.^me St-Marseille. As for the plants, the users of the bins give or exchange seeds.

A unifying project

The rooftop garden is accessible to all residents of the four RPA buildings, which includes approximately 800 people. According to the instigators, this green space encourages meetings between residents of all the buildings and breaks their isolation. “It was a wonderful project [à réaliser] “, remembers M.^me Bouchard.

“This project allowed me to meet lots of people and talk with them,” says M.^me St-Marseille. It’s more than vegetables.”