Easy DIY Bird Baths For Your Garden
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Put together this frugal DIY Bird Bath for a fraction of the cost and enjoy birds year round in your yard with this simple idea.
Easy DIY Bird Bath
It’s that time of the year when I love to get out in my garden and start to spruce things up. I am always on the lookout for fun and affordable garden art that I can bring in, and bird baths are one of my favorites. I love them because not only can they add beauty to your garden, but they also attract some beautiful birds (and other critters sometimes as well).
These bird baths are so easy to make; all you are doing is stacking plates on a large pot. This project is perfect for those who love to shop at thrift stores or garage and yard sales. Look for deals on large pots and large shallow bowls, as well as smaller decorative bowls. You can use pieces that might look tacky by themselves, but when they are stacked together in your garden, they become art. Older ashtrays, or flower-shaped bowls in glazes, may not look that impressive sitting on a garage sale table, but stack them with another glass dish of a complementary color and shape, and you end up with a beautiful birdbath that not only will the birds love, but so will you.
Note – if you are wondering where to go thrift shopping, we do share some of our favorite spots to thrift in the NW here!
My mother recently made these simple bird feeders out of thrift store and garage sale finds. She simply stacks the dishes on her larger pots and adds water. She likes to change plates out for a different look from time to time, and so that is why she goes with the less permanent structure. If you have kids you’ll worry about knocking the plate (or pets) and want to make it more permanent, you can attach the plates to the top of your pot using an epoxy glue or gorilla glue.
Rather than just putting one shallow bowl for the birdbath, like you often see, nest a smaller decorative bowl inside a larger one for added dimension. In this example, she found the large bowl at a thrift store for a few dollars. She then splurged on a $12 glass flower bowl from Home Goods Store to make her birdbath even more beautiful.
Using the same bottom pot, she is able to change out her dishes on top to get a completely new look, This green glass bowl has held fruit on our counter for years. It’s nice to give it new life in the garden. It looks like a completely new piece once the blue glass flower plate is stacked inside (which was not that pretty on its own).
Be sure to search your own cupboards for old serving dishes, chargers or larger platters you are not using any more, and see how they might work on the top of a planter pot.
If you do not have a pot to stack some large dishes on top of, you could grab some of these clay pots in different sizes and stack them to create your base. These clay pots can be very affordable, and you would just start by putting the largest size upside down, then stacking the smaller sizes on top.
Using Solar Powered Water Fountains!
One thing I have learned over the year is that critters like to come where water is flowing and not stagnant. That might mean good or bad things for you, but I like critters (especially birds) in my small backyard. My cat really appreciates this (from the safety of his catio, of course)!
There are so many solar-powered fountains on Amazon, but this one right here is well-reviewed and just $8.99 right now!
- Find this solar-powered water fountain here!
These can float around in your container, so depending on the size and shape of yours, you may want to consider one that stays in place. That usually happens by either having an adhesive that holds it in place, or more commonly, it has little plastic arms you attach to keep it in position.
This is an example of one that is secured in place with adhesive.
Versus one that is floating around.
Versus one that is held in place with “plastic arms” that keep it restrained (look closely and you will see the clear plastic arms that come out from the water fountain device and hold it in the center of the container.
Honestly, I like all the looks but it is important for you to understand what you are getting to make sure you like them all too.
- You will find lots of different options and price points here (all the ones I have shown you here I have gotten for under $15….some as low as under $10, so they do not need to cost alot).
I will say that when I use the glass bowls, those do need to come in during each winter or they will risk being broken. I have used glass bowls in the past (shown here) and lost them because I left them out all winter. What happens is that they freeze (whatever rainwater that accumulates in them in the colder season) and they freeze and break,
So one of the things I have tried to bring into the mix is these resin bird baths and plant holders (as they do not break when you leave them out year-round). I layer them with other pretty bowls, or add animal decor on them and a solar water pump, and have really enjoyed them.
Of course, the beauty of the glass options is hard to compete with (just make sure you can store somewhere covered in the winter).
Here is another example of where we have taken a large vase we had, balanced a big bowl we had on top of it, and added the solar-powered water fountain in it – to create a bird feeder/slash water fountain with items we had on hand!
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