YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN
As you know, I sell birdhouses in my online store called All Gone to the Birds. That is one of my favorite things to decorate with. Inside and out. But they also have a purpose, They provide shelter and nesting area for the birds. I also grow and make birdhouses but it’s not for everyone.
I like to grow gourds to make birdhouses out of. The birds love them to nest in. especially the wrens. I don’t grow them every year, because the birdhouses last a while and each time I grow them they’re more than enough for me. I make some as gifts too!
Gourds take a long time to dry, I grow them on my back fence, (and the neighbors too) then I put them in the shed and garage to dry ove
r the winter. I have all my garden decorations in the shed and it’s real crowded, but I just set them on paper, on the shelves with my statues and garden tools. So they can cure over the winter. They say you can leave them on the vines but Indiana gets a lot of snow, so I’ve never attempted that.
In the spring, I scrub them with bleach water, and let them dry in the sun. I cut a hole and clean all the seeds and insides out. Then I paint them and stencil them, or whatever I feel like at the time I like the rub ons too. Most importantly I give them several coats of clear spray to protect them from the weather.
I guess taking about 6 months on a birdhouse isn’t for everyone. But It does give you some unique decorations in your yard and most importantly, the birds love them.
The birdlady
As you know, I sell birdhouses in my online store called All Gone to the Birds. That is one of my favorite things to decorate with. Inside and out. But they also have a purpose, They provide shelter and nesting area for the birds. I also grow and make birdhouses but it’s not for everyone.
I like to grow gourds to make birdhouses out of. The birds love them to nest in. especially the wrens. I don’t grow them every year, because the birdhouses last a while and each time I grow them they’re more than enough for me. I make some as gifts too!
Gourds take a long time to dry, I grow them on my back fence, (and the neighbors too) then I put them in the shed and garage to dry ove
r the winter. I have all my garden decorations in the shed and it’s real crowded, but I just set them on paper, on the shelves with my statues and garden tools. So they can cure over the winter. They say you can leave them on the vines but Indiana gets a lot of snow, so I’ve never attempted that.In the spring, I scrub them with bleach water, and let them dry in the sun. I cut a hole and clean all the seeds and insides out. Then I paint them and stencil them, or whatever I feel like at the time I like the rub ons too. Most importantly I give them several coats of clear spray to protect them from the weather.
I guess taking about 6 months on a birdhouse isn’t for everyone. But It does give you some unique decorations in your yard and most importantly, the birds love them.
The birdlady
This last picture is of a birdhouse that I made about 3 or 4 years ago, It has been through a lot. The same wren family has nested in it and raised their family every year. For some reason they had made the hole a little larger each year. Last year I took it down and put a new one up , and I left it on the ground intending on taking it to the trash, with the weed pile I was working on creating at the time. When I went back to get it the little wren was checking it out. So I hung it back up thinking that if they used it, I’d leave it there. Maybe it wasn‘t so bad. As a result, It did get used by a small finch this year. It is still hanging to this day.
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