Quite the pet project: Doghouses going green
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Even your doghouse can go green, writes Bettijane Levine in today’s Home section:
‘SoCal landscape architect Stephanie Rubin and her partner, sculptor Chris Isner, sell doghouses with rooftop gardens for $1,000 to $4,000. Your homemade version will cost a lot less -- and the dog in residence will appreciate a plant-topped refuge that is cooler, in every sense of the word, than anything else around. To start, Rubin and Isner suggest that you come up with your own general design or scan for ideas on their website, www.sustainablepet.com. They won’t mind if you filch. For a closer look at their doghouses, visit City Bakery in Brentwood.’
The final touches include vibrant plants:
Rubin’s rooftops are filled with pet-friendly, nonpoisonous, mostly native plants that require no pesticides or fertilizers. Her favorites include woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis), stonecrop (Sedum, particularly S. acre), live forever (Dudleya), and common yarrow (Achillea millefolium).
Maybe being in the doghouse (at least this kind) isn’t all that bad.
-- Francisco Vara-Orta