Rooftop Gardens

"The farmyard, which was surrounded by trees, seemed to be asleep. The tall grass, among which the dandelions rose up like streaks of yellow light, was of a vivid green, a fresh spring green. The apple trees threw their shade all around them and the thatched houses, on which the blue and yellow iris flowers with their sabre like leaves grew, steamed as if the moisture of the stables and barns was coming through the straw"
~ Guy de Maupassant  1850 -1893

I am so glad that I looked upwards and not just ahead on our recent holiday in a small village in Normandy, France. I was totally smitten with the planted roof tops of these thatched cottages. From what I can gather the irises are planted on a bed of clay along the ridge of the roof. This helps to ensure that the ends of the thatch are secure. As well as serving a practical purpose this looks most attractive too. As you can see there were other plants sprouting from the thatches, including sempervivums or houseleeks. These are often found on roofs both thatched and tiled, as a charm to ward off thunder and lightening.

My French vocabulary came up with a blank when it came to the word for a roof but that information was most conveniently supplied by Rob in his recent post about green roofs over at 'Our French Garden In The Dordogne' Thanks Rob. Roof = toit.