In the heart of the city of Durban is the Rooftop Garden, one of the cleanest and most relaxed gardens anyone is guaranteed to instantly fall in love with.

The lush and green, which took eight weeks and 360 bags of compost to complete, was designed and built by Durban University of Technology Horticulture (Landscape Technology) graduate Amy Gwillam who works for Topturf, a multi-disciplinary greens services company, in partnership with the eThekwini Municipality.

The Rooftop Garden, positioned 100 metres from Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC) was built in July last year (2011) under the Municipality’s campaign: Facilities Management Priority Zone (FMPZ) which was implemented to transform Durban’s inner city from a crime and grime ridden area to a more pleasant experience for all.

Implemented as urban agriculture, the roof garden which was made a priority zone by the Municipality is earth friendly and uses natural energy for its plants. The garden is also used for educational purposes.

The garden is doing so well that it scooped three Golden Awards at this year’s national South African Landscapers Institute (SALI) Awards Ceremony which was held in Cape Town. The garden took first prize in the categories of Construction with In-house Design, Water Wise as well as Specialised Construction.

“We use rain water for the plants. We have a worm farm that makes fertiliser for the plants and it’s an advantage that the garden is on the roof which ensures that it receives a lot of sunlight which at times can be too much. The wind is also a factor that doesn’t allow us to grow tall plants as they get blown away”, said Gwillam.

Vegetables grown in the garden are sold to the public and are donated to the Durban Children’s Home, The Association For The Aged (TAFTA) as well as crèches around its offices.

The Rooftop Garden is so peaceful that it is used for yoga classes and functions. It is also open to the public as a picnic venue, a place to view the city from or a place where one can learn about plants.

The garden has a lot of space as well as a mega chess game board to keep one entertained.

– Nongcebo Khumalo

Caption: DUT graduate Amy Gwillam who designed the Rooftop Garden, one of the cleanest and most relaxed gardens in the city.