1 / 10
Photo: Courtesy of Topiarius
Rooftop Retreat
This rooftop retreat, created by Topiarius, an urban landscape firm, sits atop the owner's garage. To conform to city codes, installers anchored the pergola in containers, rather than drilling into the structure. A long planter filled with Arborvitaes was clad with Azek, a material that resembles wood. "It's a great finishing material for outdoors," says Topiarius Co-Owner and Vice-President Sara Jenkins-Sutton, who adds that it's available to DIY-ers. "It has a nice, smooth surface for painting." The arborvitaes eventually died, she said, but "Junipers would do well for the same conical look. Container planting on a rooftop is a different beast than how plants behave in the ground. Chicago's freeze and thaw cycle is really tough on plants."