Holidays at the Harris Home: Sweet Birdcage Planter

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Sweet Birdcage Planter

As we continue through these beautiful spring days, it's so fun to find new ways to bring beauty to our homes. Today I'm sharing how I put together this sweet little birdcage planter that now graces our front porch.

This project began when I found this pretty birdcage at Michael's craft store, on sale for 40% off. I have a soft spot for bird-themed home decor, and so I thought it would be fun to put together a project of some kind.

On the many visits to the nurseries, home improvement centers, and farmer's market this spring, I've gathered up a collection of annuals that could fill this planter. I gathered everything on the back porch table, and began to play around.

Lots of plants, not all of them will fit, of course, and I wasn't sure which ones would end up being used.

First I needed to line the birdcage. I had an old hanging basket that had some coconut fiber liner in it, so I decided to use that.

To make it fit nicely in the birdcage, I cut slits in the fiber.

Then it was easy to lay the fiber inside the birdcage planter, with the sections of fiber overlapping a bit.

Another section of fiber, and the liner was fitted nicely.

Next, I lined the fiber with plastic, to help with water retention.

The liner ended up being about 5" tall on the sides, just enough to put in some potting soil and some plants.

For potting soil, I used this product, which I happened to have in the garage.

I filled the birdcage liner with soil, and began adding plants. I put in quite a few plants in, packing them in fairly tightly, to keep the planter nice and full. I wanted them to spill over, so I encouraged some of the stems out the sides. I ended up using one pink dianthus, two white impatiens, two or three ageratum, and one lamium.

Next, it was time to add the centerpiece - a ceramic bird which I also bought at Michael's, earlier in the spring season.

Perfect! Now time to put the planter in its place on the front porch.

As the summer progresses, the plants should fill in nice and thick. If any plant doesn't survive, it should be easy enough to trade something new in its place. The soil will need to be kept moist, which is easy enough with a watering can each morning.

UPDATE: June 15, 2014
Here is a view of the planter one month later. The lamium and the impatiens have both really filled in and spilled out. Harder to see, but the blue ageratum also is spilling out the back, and the pink dianthus is doing nicely, bringing some pink to the arrangement. The ceramic bird is hiding in there, he's visible as you stand and look, but not if you are sitting in the chairs. The lack of direct sun has not apparently hurt this arrangement at all! I keep it watered (nearly) every day, and gave it some liquid fertilizer last weekend. It's doing great!