Repurpose A Vintage Fruit Bowl Into An Adorable Bird Bath Planter

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Thrifting offers benefits beyond just saving money and practicing sustainable consumption; according to research published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, when the stability of life feels threatened by outside forces, there is a psychological appeal to connecting with older generations of crafters and buyers. However, you don't need to put down that cute fruit bowl you like at a vintage shop just because you don't have a current need. You can do more than just decorate and organize your countertop clutter with this thrift store find. Pollinator groups like birds are often attracted to bright, flowery colors, so something like a vintage fruit bowl might just be the perfect centerpiece basin for a combination bird bath-planter that brings in avian friends to help spread seeds around your garden. 

Whether you find yourself with a fruit bowl that has a stemmed base or sits flush to the table, either can serve the role of bird bath. Just make sure the vintage ceramic wasn't decorated with lead paint, which could leach into the water and ultimately harm the birds. Ceramic glazes might also contain other leachable metals like cadmium or barium. The other main thing you're going to need is a large planting pot (whether thrifted or not) that's wide enough for the soil to show after you've set the fruit bowl in its center. Beyond that, all you need to get started is the variety of potting soil that fits the kind of plants you want to grow and a clean source of water.

This DIY project is going to literally spring out of the pot, so decide upfront whether you like its default look or want to take the time to repaint or decorate it. Once it's to your liking, you can set loose packing paper or newspaper on the bottom to add a moisture-absorbing layer beneath the soil, then bury your new seedlings or pre-grown transplants in a ring pattern around the space where the fruit bowl will sit. Whether the plants extend over the lip of your vintage bowl or set underneath it, the most important consideration for bird bath purposes is that you make the basin accessible with no more than 2 or 3 inches of water.

The types of flowers you choose to plant are ultimately up to your personal discretion, but for this DIY project, keep in mind that there are going to be certain combinations of fruit bowl colors, live flora, and pot placement that work best for attracting different bird species. If you want to attract blue jays to your garden, blue is the ideal color because birds will often fly towards hues that resemble their feathers. Using blue jays as an example, thrift yourself a vintage fruit bowl with a cool-toned color scheme and plant purple coneflowers in the soil around it. Meanwhile, have shrubs like spicebush in the surrounding garden to provide shelter and food. Every species is going to be different, however, so do your own research into the local ecology to decide what kind of bird bath you want to design.

Another smart addition to your bird bath-planter is a moving water feature, which would add a trickling sound to attract birds with acute hearing. Even a completely still vintage fruit bowl can be upgraded with small water features; for example, you can find solar-powered bird bath fountain pump upgrades on Amazon for around $35. But as mentioned, not all thriftable fruit bowls are going to be ideal candidates. Vintage vessels with slick, slippery surfaces will not make for good bird baths, nor will brittle materials like porcelain. In fact, pieces with rough surfaces will do better to attract birds to your DIY planter. However, if you have a smooth vintage fruit bowl picked out for its color-match, you can try adding some rocks or bathtub stickers.

One important aspect of designing a bird bath-planter is the height of your building materials. An aboveground bath, typically on a pedestal, will attract different birds than ones near or at ground level — better for species that prefer bathing in rivers or ponds. If creating a large planter to house your vintage fruit bowl bird bath clashes with the pollinators you want to service, you can replicate the idea by planting a ring of flowers directly in your garden bed. Old fruit bowls are just one of many thrift store finds you can turn into beautiful yard features for birds, so it's worth taking a look around your local antique shops if you want to update your garden in a way that also helps foster the local animal ecosystem.