Repurpose Old Garden Staples To Create A Natural Bird Feeding Station

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Making bird feeders is a terrific way to extend the life of materials that might otherwise end up in your home's trash cans — and eventually, a landfill. You could transform soup cans into stunning bird feeders that reflect your personal style — or try this genius egg carton hack to get birds flocking to your yard that you can compost when you're done with it. Little-used items from your garage or garden shed can be turned into stands for your feeders, as well. This setup is especially useful if you don't have many trees or hooks for hanging avian cafes. Plant pots and small wire trellises are excellent building blocks for a versatile bird feeding station.

Ready to make one for your feathered friends? Round up two pots and a bunch of trellises, and then locate string or rope for tethering the trellises to one another. Twine is one inexpensive option that can get the job done, but pieces of old jump ropes, clotheslines, or shoelaces could also work. Whatever you choose as your tethering string should be able to withstand wind, rain, and sunshine without creating hazards for visiting birds. 

If you don't find anything the fits the bill, you could order cable ties such as those in the HMRope 100-pack of heavy-duty plastic zip ties. Don't forget to grab some soil for the pots. Finally, track down a tool for cutting the wire trellises into pieces. TikTok content creator @charlottesbirdseed recommends using bolt cutters since she has found that regular wire cutters aren't sufficient for this project.

One way to create a bird-feeding station involves building a shelf-like structure with the plant pots and wire trellises. Before cutting your trellises into smaller pieces of wire, put soil in your pots to make them heavier. This helps them stay put when birds flock to your feeders. The soil also holds up the trellises. If you don't have enough pots to spare, 5-gallon buckets are a good substitute. Drill holes in their bottoms to discourage water from accumulating in them. 

After your pots are filled with soil, grab two trellises that are about the same height. Insert one in each pot. Then, use your remaining trellises to create horizontal shelves that link the two vertical trellises in the plant pots. Snip the wire into the sizes and shapes you need for shelves and tie them to the pot-based trellises. No wire trellises on hand? Dollar Tree typically sells them. One option is Garden Collection metal trellises, which are about 24 inches tall and 18 inches wide. Alternatively, you could repurpose tent poles into cages for supporting tomato plants.

The final step is a chance to show off your creativity. You could grow sunflowers and other birdseed-producing plants in the pots or affix seed heads to one of the trellises. Try displaying different styles of homemade bird feeders on the shelves. You might hang DIY suet cakes or hummingbird nectar dispensers. Also feature fruits that songbirds like — apple halves with the seeds removed, for instance. Bluebirds, tanagers, thrushes, and mockingbirds are all fond of apples.