Green roofs: Sprout it from the rooftops

Rooftops are just rooftops, right? Not when they become colorful urban retreats for office personnel, alternative working environments and environmental relief.

Rooftop gardens and green roofs are cropping up across the country, including Hampton Roads.

Take the 20th floor of the Armada Hoffler Tower in Virginia Beach’s Town Center, for example.

“You can see the container ships in the Chesapeake Bay,” said Kimberly Goold, pointing north over office buildings and a patchwork of neighborhoods.

R.J. Nutter pointed toward the west at the Norfolk skyline.

“And beyond that you can just make out the cranes in Newport News. And that’s the Cape Henry Lighthouse,” Nutter said pointing east to the historic tower.

The two were sky high in the catbird seat, so to speak, surrounded by colorful fuchsia petunias, red hibiscus, hollies, red geraniums and Knock Out roses..

Goold is the office administrator, and Nutter’s the managing partner, at law firm Troutman Sanders, which opened this office in 2003, the same year the rooftop garden was put in.

“It’s always the first place people gravitate to,” Nutter said about the office’s visitors. “The view is so unique.”

The project was designed by landscape architect Mike Fox and designer Jarrod Katzer of WPL of Virginia Beach. It was installed by Signature Landscapes & Garden of Chesapeake.

The project included important weight and drainage decisions. The large planters are made of Dura Art Stone – a strong-yet-lightweight material resembling concrete. Styrofoam replaced much of what would normally be dirt between the potted plants.

“A third consideration was the micro climate as it pertains to the plant material,” Katzer said. “Your plant selection has to fit the little micro climate because you are way up in the air. It’s going to be a windier, colder climate.”

There was also the aesthetic aspect: choosing vivid plants.

“We are very happy with the results and glad to hear they get so much use out of it.” Katzer said.

Did someone say party?

“We’ve had quite a few parties up here,” Nutter said.

As soon as it gets warm enough the office holds business-development events and throws celebrations for clients and staff. They’ve even had a wedding, a King Neptune reception and patriotic holiday get-togethers.

Linux Mint Forums • View topic - Cannot mount external HD

Would this tend to mean, the drive is running intermittently? I am not a computer genius I admit. I try googling whatever I can, then I come here. There is much I don't understand in LInux. So I hope someone can help me with this problem. FYI the hard drive was originally formatted on windows xp as well as the Maxtor. But has worked on two Linux machines ( Mint Julia and Ubuntu ) in the past. So what I am trying to figure out, is this a hardware issue, or a mount issue ? Would this tend to mean, the drive is running intermittently? I am not a computer genius I admit. I try googling whatever I can, then I come here. There is much I don't understand in LInux. So I hope someone can help me with this problem. FYI the hard drive was originally formatted on windows xp as well as the Maxtor. But has worked on two Linux machines ( Mint Julia and Ubuntu ) in the past. So what I am trying to figure out, is this a hardware issue, or a mount issue ? I had this happen the other week. Neither my external drive nor my Android phone would mount. Eventually realised it was a hardware issue, because both worked fine with my other machines. Still trying to decide it it's a mobo connection, or the USB port on the case. But definitely a hardware issue. I'd even re-installed to see if that was he problem first. Yet it is running. The light is on, and it appears to be functioning. As I type here, I can see the light dimming and brightening which is what it normally does as it is backing up information. This is my Maxtor One-Touch drive, which I use daily! It has most of my files on it. Now it is not showing either. But in this case I know it is running. I can hear the disk spinning.

Ward's business directory of U.S. private and public companies

Million dollar directory

Mike Meyers' Linux+ Certification Passport

California manufacturers register

Directory of California technology companies