# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DXMwfR6k17c
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64150235-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/49fe32b774.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-04-16T16:31:46.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

When Hayden Regina and his partner bought their Chicago condo in 2020, they had a vision: a rooftop garden that would be both a personal refuge and professional research space, somewhere to simultaneously escape and get lost in. ⁠
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🔨 Deciding on Design⁠
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• The final layout divides the roof into two “rooms” that are connected by a narrow catwalk, compressing movement and heightening awareness of exposure. ⁠
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• The installation was kept modular and replicable, so any homeowner can replicate it without the use of a large crew. ⁠
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🌱 Planting Experiments⁠
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• Grass mixes like Sesleria autumnalis, Sporobolus heterolepis, and Briza media, serve as a structural backbone in the sunnier exposures, while grasses of the Carex variety bring durability to areas with partial shade. ⁠
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• Perennials have a role to play too—the texture and endurance of Penstemon ‘Onyx and Pearls,’ Enchinacea pallida, Allium ‘Summer Beauty,’ and others bring vertical punctuation, seasonal bloom, and mid-canopy presence. ⁠
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• A few standouts, such as Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’ and Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’ have earned permanent residencies on Regina’s palette for their independent resilience. ⁠
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• While some thrive, other well-regarded plants like Sedum ‘Back in Black’ and Achillea ‘Sassy Summer Sunset’ struggled and failed under rooftop conditions. ⁠
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The rooftop garden is not one environment, but a network of microclimates shaped by heat, wind, and irrigation. Through working with the elements—and listening to the plants—Regina exemplifies how resilience and beauty can not only exist together, but reinforce each other. ⁠
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For more on this refreshing rooftop, visit “Prairie in the Sky” in our March/April issue at ahsgardening.org. ⁠
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Not a member? Join us at us at ahsgardening.org/join to become a member and gain full access to American Gardener magazine. ⁠
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Writer: Hayden Regina (haydenregina) ⁠
Photography: Ali Hussian ⁠
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#prairieinthesky #americangardener #americanhorticulturalsociety #gardeningtips #urbanplanting #urbanlandscape #rooftopgarden #designingurbanlandscapes #gardendesign #adaptablegardens #perrenials #uniquegardens #ahsgardening

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## Tags

rooftopgarden, gardendesign, urbanlandscape, americanhorticulturalsociety, designingurbanlandscapes, uniquegardens, prairieinthesky, gardeningtips, americangardener, urbanplanting, perrenials, adaptablegardens, ahsgardening

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