10 inspiring rooftop garden ideas

Clever use of space and a green-on-green palette has transformed this inner-city terrace into a private oasis. An outdoor fireplace ensures the rooftop garden remains a destination, even in the cooler months.

Modern planting and sharp lines give this rooftop terrace and garden by Adam Robinson a contemporary appeal. “The aim was to complement the architecture but also to soften it a bit and ground it in the property,” says Adam.

Elegant cottage blooms, buxus balls and mature trees flourish behind a manicured hedge on this Lower Manhattan rooftop. Limestone pavers nagivate the split-level layout.

Adam chose a palette of tough plants for this rooftop garden with a range of forms and textures, from the stiff swords of mother-in-law’s tongues to a lush and leafy frangipani.

This rooftop courtyard is a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Moroccan roof terrace. Walled in, but with no ceiling, this space is decorated like an interior room, with upholstered benches and pot plants, a vegetable garden and barbecue.

A penthouse apartment with a lush rooftop garden is an oasis in the city for its owner.

This rooftop garden has been decked out with furniture for entertaining and relaxing, colourful outdoor decor and hardy plants. With views of the Sydney city skyline, this rooftop terrace would be the perfect place for summer soirees!

If space permits, a rooftop terrace is the perfect spot to set up an outdoor kitchen at the very least a BBQ.

An outdoor bathtub is the ultimate luxury, especially when it enjoys a bird’s-eye view over the Sydney city skyline, spectacular sensets, and glimpses of the Blue Mountains.

Fill your rooftop terrace with as many plants – in varying shapes, sizes and heights – to make it feel like a garden. Plants will also help to create privacy and shade if they’re big enough.