Overview
Bird tables can be improved with a living, green roof that looks attractive and encourages more wildlife to visit your garden. The best plants to use for green roofs on your bird table are sedums, as they can withstand drought and grow on poor soil. You can buy ready-made sedum matting, which you simply cut to size and roll out.
Do it:
all year round
Takes just:
1 hour
How to do it
-
Measure the roof of your bird table and cut some plastic sheeting to fit over it - this will act as a waterproof membrane. Secure it over the roof with galvanised tacks. -
Cut the water-retentive matting to fit over the plastic sheeting and fix it to the roof of the bird table with galvanised tacks. -
Use a saw to divide the timber batten into four pieces - one for each slope of the roof. Cut one end of each piece at a 45˚ angle so they fit neatly together at the apex of the roof. Drill some pilot holes into the timber, then screw the battens in place. -
Use a craft knife to cut the sedum matting to size, then lay it over the roof of the bird table. -
Sprinkle the sedum mat with a slow-release fertiliser and water.
"You can use the same method to green up the roof on an ugly garage or shed."
Comments and rating
Overall rating (from 3 ratings):
5 out of 5
loe this site so easy to understand thnk you crystal 2010
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5 out of 5
5 out of 5
What a great idea for my bird table, i may also modify this to give my lawn feeder a roof to keep the bird food dry. Many thanks for this idea.
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heatherrees commented on this article
29 January 2009
I love the idea as I have wanted to do something with the roof of my bird table for a long time. However, where do you find the water retentive matting and sedum matting, and can you just buy enough to fit a bird table or would I have to order a huge amount which would go to waste. Alternatively, could I use some other materials that would do the job just as well? I have some sedums in a pot, so could I make my own matting in some way?
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