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[Michaelangelica]

The growth of high-rise gardens: Let a thousand rooftops bloom
A dazzling horticultural revolution is breaking out over south-east Asia, as cities discover the many benefits that gardens can bring to the 21st-century urban environment.
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A surgeon called Arthur van Langenberg has become the poet laureate and brave champion of urban gardening - and is on a mission to show that living in Hong Kong does not mean abandoning your connection to nature. He was surprised to discover there was no manual on how to garden in the city, so in 1983 he published Urban Gardening for Hong Kong.
In 2005 he published a follow-up called Urban Gardening: A Hong Kong Gardener's Journal. Dr van Langenberg's works look at some of the challenges of gardening in a high-rise environment.
Some avowed enemies include birds, dogs, cats and sceptical neighbours. His own simple beginnings commenced with "flower pots on window sills, wooden packing crates in verandahs, dragon urns at entrances, eventually graduating to a small garden"
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Wilson Wong, 28, started the Green Culture website in September 2004, which provides information for local horticulturalists.
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The website has helped Mr Wong to develop his own skills, allowing him to grow plants under fluorescent lights and even start to cultivate flowers, the first one being the flame violet (Episcia), as well as learn the basics of landscaping and about outdoor plants. The website forum has attracted more than 1,500 high-rise gardeners in Singapore, seeking advice and looking to track down seeds, swap plant cuttings and generally enjoy the community of other green-fingered enthusiasts. Late last year, he started a community garden near his home.

Last month Singapore unveiled Treelodge@Punggol, its first "green" housing estate. Plants growing on the walls keep the 712 apartments inside the seven 16-storey tower blocks cool and pleasant. On top is an eco-deck, a large garden with a jogging track and exercise stations.
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The government is keen to plant more trees before the Olympic Games in Beijing next year to help break down pollution and stop dust from the Gobi desert choking the dry city during the summer. The city plans to plant 510,000 trees in the Olympic Forest Park near the Olympic stadium..

The growth of high-rise gardens: Let a thousand rooftops bloom - Independent Online Edition > Asia
An inspiring article worth a read
the "west" is being left behind eating it's own dust.