With so many initiatives to "green up" urban surfaces and rooftops, it's refreshing to see the progress at the Fairmont Hotel's rooftop garden - covering 3,000 rambling square feet on the pool level.

It was started several years ago, and new executive chef Andre Natera is carrying on the tradition. "We have no gardener," he says. Instead, the beds are maintained by the kitchen staff with only a little help with watering.

Most recently, honeybees were added to the garden.

The bees buzz around the flowering thyme and other herbs in the background. "The Texas Honeybee Guild, they harvest the honey," says Natera. And they'll do so for the first time before the end of the month, giving some to the Fairmont and selling some, but always leaving the hives healthy.

The kitchen has watermelon vines, tomato plants (just about played out), peppers, and bed after bed of herbs, from rosemary to oregano, fennel to mint. In addition, there's a small, neat greenhouse where the kitchen grows and snips its microgreens.

Read the full story at http://eatsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/07/garden-up-on-the-roof.html

Source: Dallasnews.com