Birdhouse Post Design Ideas
Once you have a birdhouse or two or three, how do you best to hang them in your garden? Both the bird’s needs and how they will look are important to a Flea Market Gardener. See more than 20 examples!
It’s a great time to install birdhouses and one great way to do that is on a post, out of reach of predators..
Sandra Hogan painted these birdhouses, each a different pastel color
Sandra Hogan says, “My birdhouse is made from cedar with a glass doorknob and plate, topped off with a glass bottle stopper and metal roof. It’s perched on a vintage spindle from my overflowing stash of “stuff”. The birds love it!” Sandra mounted her birdhouse on a turned porch post with two scrolled brackets and a small platform.
Sandra’s very sweet bird abode
Sandra also made a second birdhouse post,…a completely different style.
Rita Michalak offers many choices with her bird condo
How to mount a bird house on a post
Kirk Willis describes his new project, “This was one of my July Challenge projects…a simple one,…a birdhouse post. I bought the post and birdhouse the other day while thrifting, using some left-over paint my wife had to chalk paint and distress the post.
A rose climbs the porch post Kirk Willis used to raise his bird house up
Kirk also used a turned porch post to raise up the birdhouse in this stunning picture. He added rebar in the bottom of the post (see below) and put a coat of sealant on everything. He says, “Even the little piece of wood that I mounted the birdhouse on was a free find in a pile of free wood. The post was 49 cents. Mr. Thrifty! A fun project!” Kirk put a cork in the purely decorative birdhouse hole as the hole is so small, .no yellow jackets allowed inside!
Kirk drilled a hole in the bottom of the post for a piece of rebar which is used as a stake in the ground.
Terresa Stoll’s two tall birdhouse towers
Terresa Stoll doubles the effort, setting up two similar birdhouses, each at a different level above a sea of pink crape myrtle. She says, “These bird houses have a sign that says ‘Gardeners know the best dirt!’ that I found at garage sales. The old wheel was found at an auction. Love my rust and junk.”
Places to install a birdhouse pole:
- In the center of a flower bed
- Intersection of two paths
- In place of a fence post
- At the corner of the house
- In front of an evergreen shrub
- Within a raised bed
- On either side of an entrance gate
- As a ‘distance’ focal point at the back of the garden
Kirk’s woodsy birdhouse pole
Kirk’s birdhouse greeters
Kelly Dickinson vintage birdhouse has a bit of barbed wire as a perch
Linda Bota’s birdhouse amid her glowing Black eyed Susans
Myra Glandon’s mossy green birdhouse
Myra Glandon says, “Here is a birdhouse I made about fifteen years ago that has lost its steeple and some of its thread spool trim, but is weathering well” Myra used a single board as a platform for the house, attached to the post with a galvanized deck bracket.
JoAnne Knox created a birdhouse high rise
Hang ‘em High!
For a functional bird house, Birds and Blooms magazine gives these tips:
- Nesting birds prefer their houses at different heights.
- Purple martin houses need to be about 15 to 20 feet above the ground.
- Wood ducks and screech-owls also need lofty homes, 12 to 40 feet high.
- For bluebirds, hang it 5 to 8 feet above the ground.
- For details on what other birds require see this site, Coveside Bird Houses
Sue Gerdes planted her birdhouse pole in a raised bed
Notice Cindy Trubisky’s fence post climber?
Jeanie Merritt’s birdhouse condo
Jeanie Merritt tells us, “A treasured birdhouse designed by my late husband….. complete with rusty tin roofs.” Jeanie’s grouping is especially effective since it’s a set of three similar birdhouses on a platform, nailed to a post.
Becky Norris designed every aspect of her birdhouse
Becky Norris’s quaint old birdhouse is fashioned from old found parts, she tells us. “I thought on this bird house for quite some time and I’m grateful it could be built the way I designed it. A dear friend, Tim Jacobs, Sr. built it and my husband mounted it on the pole that was cemented into the ground. I believe this is going to stay around, for my enjoyment, a very long time. It has six compartments inside and I could even drill holes in the “basement” if I want more birds to live in it.”
Jeanne Sammons’s shutter bird home with a rusty roof
Jeanne Sammons “Here’s another use for Flea Market shutters! This birdhouse stands up in my Secret Garden area in the pines…made from old recycled barn wood, discarded shutters, recycled metal roof and a headboard rail split in half lengthwise.”
Diane Weiss used a ‘natural’ multi-trunked post
D Diane Weiss says, “We have four Martin condos and love to see them arrive in the Spring! They are so much fun to watch and so…social! I hate to see them leave in July. They also eat thousands of mosquitoes!” Using a cut off tree trunk left in the garden is an ideal opportunity to raise up a few birdhouses.
Post, platform and birdhouse from Ryder Country Daylilies
The folks from Ryder Country Daylilies describe the birdhouse post they made, “We made these years ago and left it at the house we moved from. It’s omplete with a tiny front porch and tiny grapevine wreath.”