Turn a Birdhouse into a Planter: Dual-Purpose Garden Project

Birdhouses add fanciful flourish to gardens. This avian abode with a twist doubles as a planter for vibrant displays. Include scalloped edges for finished look and drainage holes for durability—without them, water accumulates, causing rot.

What You Need

• Table saw
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Scroll saw
• Drill and drill bit
• Screwdriver
• Hammer
• Two buckets
• Wood:
  • A) 1 piece cedar ⅞ × 6 × 12 inches
  • B) 1 piece cedar ⅞ × 6 × 12 inches
  • C) 1 piece plywood ⅜ × 9½ × 9½ inches
  • D) 1 piece plywood ⅜ × 9½ × 9½ inches
  • E) 1 piece plywood ⅜ × 6¼ × 9½ inches
  • F) 1 piece pine 1½ × 3½ × 9 inches
  • G) 1 piece cedar ⅞ × 11¼ × 11¼ inches
  • H) 2 pieces cedar ⅞ × 2 × 12 inches
  • I) 2 pieces cedar ⅞ × 2 × 13¾ inches
• Weatherproof wood glue
• 25–30 3d finishing nails
• Twenty 2½-inch flathead nails
• Six 2-inch deck screws (for 2×4 to rear wall and base to 2×4)
• 15–20 small 4–5-inch scrap cedar or asphalt shingles (new/old)
• Exterior paint or stain
• Waterproof sealant or stain
• 4 six-packs of plants
• 6–8 3-inch potted plants
• Sheet moss package
• Liquid starter fertilizer
• U-shape florist picks (optional)
• Spanish moss for decoration
• Water-soluble fertilizer

How to Construct the Bird House

1. Download free patterns for this project.

House Pattern | Wall Pattern

2. Cut pieces with table saw, check fit, adjust as needed.

3. Make pattern for triangular pieces A and B by copying to 215% on copier. Cut pattern; draw lines for scrollwork and entrance holes on A, aligning long edge with board. Cut A and B.

4. Using scroll saw, cut bottom front edge of A along drawn line. Drill blade-start holes inside marked entrance holes; cut openings with scroll saw.

5. Cut plywood pieces C and D for roof. Bevel-cut with table saw: right edge of C and left edge of D at 45° to meet at apex.

6. Apply thin bead of weatherproof wood glue to seal beveled roof edges; set triangular front/rear walls (A, B) under roof as it dries for proper fit. Apply glue along top edges of A and B. Use finishing nails to attach roof C and D to A and B.

7. Cut E and F. Cut rectangular notch in E (floor) for 2×4 mount F. Center notch along rear floor surface where 2×4 extends through floor into house. Drill four ⅜-inch drainage holes evenly spaced through floor. Position F so 4 inches inside house, 5 inches extending from bottom. Attach F to B with deck screws through back wall into F.

8. Install floor E; should fit snugly to mount. Position front wall A to floor with scrollwork just below floor edge; use 3d finishing nails to nail A into floor edge. Nail E to inside of house with 3d nails; nail through front A and rear B into floor E edge.

9. Nail cedar/asphalt shingles to roof, allowing overlap at apex and slight side overhang. If cedar shingles, drill pilot holes with 3/32-inch bit to prevent splitting. Hammer 2½-inch nails 2 inches apart in staggered rows, jutting 1 inch for moss/plant attachment (repeat pilot holes for cedar).

Construct the Base

1. Cut pieces G, H, I. Cut eight drainage holes in G before nailing side/rim pieces. Nail 1×2 rim pieces H to front/back edges of base G, bottom edges flush. Repeat with side rim pieces I.

2. Center house over base and attach by screwing to bottom of mount F.

Finishing Touches

1. Paint with exterior paint or stain. Do not paint floor E or mount F; apply waterproof sealant before attaching.

Planting and Maintenance

Use plants with similar light/water needs. This planter has miniature yellow/white roses, yellow variegated ivy, yellow/white miniature mums, white impatiens, maidenhair fern, variegated house fern (six-packs or 3-inch pots).

Soak sheet moss in bucket until saturated. Wring out, attach to roof by slipping over 2½-inch nails. Immerse plants in pots in another bucket with water and liquid starter fertilizer (with B vitamins for transplant shock; follow directions). After soaking, remove from pots, push root balls onto roof nails. Cover bare soil with more wet sheet moss; use florist picks if needed. Plant base same way, keeping plants along perimeter. Tuck Spanish moss between plantings.

Water every other day with gentle spray/watering can. Apply water-soluble fertilizer every other week.