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    Home » DIY Projects

    Birdcage Planter - How to Recycle a Cage Into Beautiful Garden Art

    by Patti Estep · Jul 10, 2019

    See how easy it is to take roadside trash and recycle it into a beautiful birdcage planter. A great addition to any garden.

    Birdcage used as a planter in the garden bed

    Today I'm showing you how I recycled an old birdcage into a pretty garden planter/ornament. 

    Old rusted birdcage

    My daughter found this on the side of the road set out for the trash collector while she was driving.

    Birdcage into a ferret cage

    She actually found two cages. The other one was more rectangular. She cleaned it up to use as a traveling home for her pet ferret, Quigley.

    How nice of her to think of me for the other cage.

    Birdcage spray painted on grass

    Preparing Old Birdcage into a Garden Planter

    There really wasn't much to do.

    First I  sanded off the rust with a piece of heavy sandpaper.

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    Next, I spray painted the entire cage with a nice indoor/outdoor gray.

    Then I added a little blue, green and aqua here and there just for fun.

    birdcage garden ornament with vines

    I had the perfect empty spot to fill in the garden where one of my perennials died over the winter.

    Inside I planted two thunbergias aka black eyed Susan vines. The one on the left is called Arizona Glow and the other Lemon Star.

    This vine is a rapid grower. I only wish it wasn't an annual. It's such a pretty flowering vine and in addition to this orange and yellow comes in white and pinkish shades.

    Thunbergia vines in birdcage planter

    After a couple of weeks, the vines are already starting to fill up the cage.

    Orange and yellow black eyed susan vines growing in birdcage planter

    It's an easy way to add a fun little bit of decoration for the garden. 

    Also, I love that I was able to recycle this piece of trash into something useful and pretty.

    I'll probably bring it in before winter hits. Maybe I can use it for some Christmas decor.

    Patti signature

    P.S. I really like the look of birdcages as planters. See a much smaller version in this Birdcage Succulent Planter. On a related note, you might enjoy making this Leaf Embossed Fountain/Bird Bath for the garden. You can find it and many more inspiring creative ideas on my DIY/Projects Page.

    Bird cage garden planter
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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. MrsSW

      July 11, 2019 at 8:55 pm

      Great idea, Patti. Your garden is so pretty.
      I love Black-eyed Susan vine, ours is the yellow - so bright and cheerful. We planted BES vine a few years ago and Steve's pulling it up like a weed now as ours reseeds prolifically.
      Sheila

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 12, 2019 at 7:37 am

        Thank you Sheila. I do love black-eyed susan vine, but it has never reseeded for me. You are so lucky. Maybe if I mulch the area in the fall....

        Reply
    2. Carole West

      July 10, 2019 at 9:55 am

      What a cute idea, I love this. Back in the 90's we use to take them and decorate with dried or silk flowers and added little mushroom birds. Was fun... This got me thinking wouldn't it be neat to turn one into a birdhouse? Thinking you could use moss and mabe add light wood shingles on the roof. I may have to be on the look out now for an old birdcage.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 10, 2019 at 2:12 pm

        Carole that's a great idea. It's pretty big but maybe you could get a group of purple martins to make a home there. They are supposed to be good for eating insects.

        Reply

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