Green doghouses are trends right now. No, green doghouses are not painted green. They are actually in line with the whole green earth theme. The movement to make the environment greener and healthier is the doghouse them you will be enacting soon enough. Basically, a green doghouse is a typical house for your dog with a garden on top to serve as the roof. It sounds cheesy and somewhat weird if you think about it but believe it or not, this is a new fad and to tell you frankly, it is a great idea. It enables you to help the environment by planting more and makes your doghouse not just a simple shelter for your pet but a beautiful one as well. Well, if you are keen on this whole concept and green trend, then here are some tips on how to build your own green doghouse.
- Build a flat-roof doghouse. The first step is to build the actual doghouse. Well, if you are familiar with the lovable cartoon dog named Snoopy, then you will know that his doghouse is the common structure shelter for dogs. Well, you will actually build something like it however, instead of a slanted roof, you will build it flat. The reason for this is that you want to be able to place a garden box on top of that roof where your plants will live and grow on. So, build your house and make the roof flat by using wooden planks. Make sure the roof is stable enough and will be able to carry the weight of a garden box on top of it.
- Build the garden box. The next step will consist of you building the garden box that will fit snugly on top of the roof. For this stage, you will want to use red cedar for the box. Measure the roof and add about 5 inches to the measurement all around. This will be the platform for your box. For the sides of the box, cut the wood so that the height will be around 6 to 8 inches. Now, assemble the box and nail all the siding to the platform. Place the garden box on top of the roof maintaining a five inch allowance on all sides.
- Drill the holes. For drainage purposes, you will want to drill a couple of a hole on each side and each corner. The holes on the side should be at the center. This will enable the water to flow through it and down the sides of the doghouse should the garden box get filled too much with water later on. Once that is done, nail the box on the roof for stability.
- Prepare the garden box for planting. Start by applying beeswax on the garden box. Two coats should do the trick. Once that is done, proceed with a nice layer of gravel, which will serve as your drainage platform. An inch should suffice. After the gravel, lay on some landscape cloth on top of it. Glue on all sides of the box so that it stays in place. This will prevent the soil from leaking out of the box. Finally, put the soil for the box. You will want the soil to consist pumice, organic soil, and a little sand. Once the soil is laid out in the box, start planting.
Try to limit the greenery that you will plant in the box to native plants that are typically non-hazardous to your dog. Take care of the plants and ensure that they get healthy doses of water in their early stages of growth. Soon enough, you will have a thriving biological habitat on top of your doghouse.