Secret Paris: A Tiny Roof Garden with an Eiffel Tower View

In Paris, where anything feels possible, even the tiniest garden can be wild and mysterious. The proof sits high above the fashionable 8th arrondissement, where landscape architect Camille Muller has created a 650-square-foot roof garden with trellised apple and pear trees, untamed raspberry bushes, and horsetails growing beside a miniature pond. A cleverly hidden compost pile is très chic— and does not distract from the view of the Eiffel Tower:

Photography by Marion Brenner.

Above: Divided into two separate “rooms” by a zinc-lined pond with a fountain, the roof has both an organic edible garden and a solarium.

Above: To soften the look of the railing without competing with the view of the Eiffel Tower, Muller hung Bacsac fabric pots, planted with Carex tenuiculmis.

Above: Discreetly sited, a compost bin doubles as seating when the wooden lid is closed. Next to the bin grow strawberry plants and herbs, including thyme  (Thymus vulgaris).

Above: In fact, almost everything everything that grows on the roof is edible, including beefsteak tomatoes trained on rustic trellises.

Above: Muller, who has been designing wild gardens since the 1980s, says he welcomes the technical challenges of creating a natural landscape in an urban environment.

Above: Fragrant rosemary runs rampant next to a comfortable chair.

Above: Visible beyond the trellises and railings are two solar panels that provide energy to operate the fountain’s pump to oxygenate the pool water. Solar energy also powers the outdoor lighting.

Above: A hidden rainwater tank collects water, which is recycled to irrigate the garden beds.

Above: A bench with a view is placed against a wall covered by a vertical garden of climbing vines.

For more garden design inspiration from Paris, see:

• Required Reading: Private Gardens of Paris.
• On the Street: 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Paris.
• An Ikea Kitchen in a Greenhouse, Paris Edition.