How to Make a Living-Roof Birdhouse

Missouri-based gardener Rebecca Nickols creates living-roof birdhouses for her business in Springfield. Follow her steps to design the perfect nest for the a backyard bird.

Before you start on your bird haven, you'll need: 

A birdhouse
Moisture barrier (roofing paper or plastic)
Potting soil
Sphagnum moss
Poultry wire
Dandelion weeder
Sedum plants
Pole or pipe for mounting
Stapler, scissors, screwdriver

Cut the moisture barrier to fit the roof; set it in place.

Cover most of the roof with moistened potting soil.

Soak sphagnum moss in water for 30 minutes to moisten it thoroughly. Wring it out with your hands, and then pack it thickly onto the soil in the roof.

Staple poultry wire on top to hold the sphagnum moss in place.

Trim the poultry wire back to the edges of the roof.

With a screwdriver or an asparagus-cutting tool, poke even more sphagnum moss through the mesh in the poultry wire to fill any gaps or thin spots. You should not be able to see the potting soil underneath.

Plant sedums. Poke the asparagus-cutting tool into the moss to make room for the sedum roots and tuck the plants in, firming them with your fingers as you go. Rebecca uses hardy sedums in her living-roof birdhouses.

Attach the knob with a screw on the side, so you can open the birdhouse to clean it out. The perch under the entry hole is optional. Birds don't need it.