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These edible green roofs will brighten up any guinea pig hutch and even your shed roof.

Equipment needed:

• Sharp hand saw

• Drill and suitable bits

• Screwdriver to fit your chosen screws

• Screws (long enough to go through the boards and into the side of the shed)

• Spirit level

• Gloves and protective eyewear

• Damp proof membrane

Materials needed:

• Shed roof (or similar)

• Lengths of board cut to fit edge of shed

• Perlite

• Multipurpose compost

• Alpine or drought tolerant plants (such as sedum, thrift, saxifrage)

What to do:

• Attach the planks to the edge of the shed using galvanised screws; drill pilot holes first if the wood is liable to splitting.

• Use a spirit level to ensure the boards are level; because the shed roof slopes this will create a planting depth which is deep at the front and shallow at the rear.

• Line the inside of the planting area with plastic sheeting (damp proof membrane) attaching it near the top of the boards and folding the inside corners to ensure a neat fit.

• Make a few drainage holes in the plastic sheeting along the front edge so that excess water can drain out where it collects at the lowest point.

• Mix approximately equal volumes of wetted perlite with multipurpose compost. Use perlite as it is lighter than gravel and will aid drainage without adding excess weight to the shed roof.

• Fill the planting area at the front of the shed roof with this mixture.

• Once all the herbs have been planted, all that is required is a final watering in.

• Plant the drought tolerant plants into the compost / perlite mix and water in well.