Attract Birds With This Easy-To-Make Planter And Feeder Combo

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Birds are almost always welcome visitors to backyards; they bring beautiful birdsong, color, and antics that are fun to watch in our gardens. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to draw more feathered friends to your yard. You can, for example, purchase a feeder, fill it with a store-bought birdseed mix, and hang it from a tree or a pole. Or you could save your money and craft a unique piece of living yard décor that doubles as a bird feeder. You attach a bird feeder to one hook on a pole and a hanging basket growing your favorite flowering plant on the other. Whether you're working with limited space or you're craving something more stylized, this DIY bird feeder-planter combo elevates your yard while welcoming birds.

You can attract a variety of birds to your yard with this habitat tip: you need to meet all of their basic needs. If your garden has a water source, lots of native flowering plants, and somewhere to share food, it's almost guaranteed that birds will flock to your backyard. This budget-friendly DIY feeder checks off two of these necessities without taking up much space. For this project, you'll need a large planter, a pole with two shepherd's hooks, and a bag of potting soil. You'll also need a hanging bird feeder and some birdseed, plus a hanging basket and your favorite container garden plants. If you want to add water to the mix, get a Feed Garden Bird Feeder Pole with three hooks instead of two and a Kingsyard Glass Bird Water Dispenser.

You only need a day to complete this budget-friendly DIY feeder that will keep birds flocking to your yard year-round. First, identify where you'll situate this planter-bird feeder combo. It will be difficult to move once in place. Drill or cut (using a hacksaw) a hole in the base of the large planter that's big enough to fit the crook, which often has a wide pronged base. Place your planter in the pre-determined spot and drive the shepherd's hook through the hole into the ground until it's secure.

Fill the planter with a soil suitable for containers, like Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix, and pop in some stunning plants that will thrive in containers in full sun. Flowering annuals like pink-flowering nasturtiums or the rare red-blooming Petunia exserta will draw in hummingbirds, while native perennials, such as New England aster or prairie dropseed, provide almost year-round food and shelter. Pot up the hanging basket, loop it over one of the hooks, and then give both miniature gardens a good watering.

Any hanging feeder is suitable for this DIY; it's what you fill it with that matters. Using pre-made birdseed is fine, but it's easy to make your own, too. Plus, you can customize the mix for the birds that visit your backyard most often. To create a catch-all mix, combine black oil sunflower, safflower, nyjer, and white millet. Add in other ingredients, like peanuts, soaked raisins, and dried mealworms, to attract specific birds or cater to seasonal needs. Whether you use a store-bought or homemade mix, fill your feeder with the birdseed and hang it on one of the hooks. Hang up the water dispenser, if you're using one, and watch the birds flock to your yard!