A green roof, 3 years later

For the past few years I have blogged about one of our earlier installations to record how things change over time. For those new to the blog:

Upon completion (2009), more pictures if you're feeling nostalgic

End of year one (2010):

End of year two (2011):

End of year three (2012):

A few notes from this year:

-I would pay a million dollars for an animal that ate only dandelions!

-The seeds on the tips of sedum floriferum kind of hurt! Also, it seems to do well in lots of sun (10+ hours), but does even better in about 6 hours of sun. The plant can also be a bit difficult to control. Some have readily headed into the no growth zone and need to be cut back in the spring and the fall, with special care taken to make sure no pieces land otherwise you have new plants in no time. 

-Hairy cap moss grows really well between stones even with intense sunlight.

-There is some data to support that green roofs raise the price of a home, but I would bet green roofs also raise the price of surrounding homes. One afternoon a real estate agent and prospective home buyers gawked for hours, perhaps a neighbor's green roof can increase the price of yours?  

-These carex festuca grasses are good, but just seem to look more vibrant at grade.
-A long drought this summer seems to have affected the coloring of the plants, for instance the yellow you see over the last two years (of the sedum angelina) was not evident this year.

-Sedum blue spruce is a plant that needs some shade and seems to be doing quite well in between the towering chives. By itself it suffered and barely held on, but now with the chives spreading it looks like a green roof champ.