STIHL’s new partner, the Skinny Jean Gardener, is the newest addition to our guest blogger gang! He will be bringing you his best tips for family fun in the garden, starting with his sunflower bird feeder idea below!
Shining tall and bright throughout the summer, sunflowers finally have their last blooming days around September, to be destined for the compost or green waste bin shortly after. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, or animal’s treasure in this case! So I’m going to show you how to give the birds that much needed feed for these colder Autumn days, with a 6 step sunflower bird feeder idea.
Shining tall and bright throughout the summer, sunflowers finally have their last blooming days around September, to be destined for the compost or green waste bin shortly after. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, or animal’s treasure in this case! So I’m going to show you how to give the birds that much needed feed for these colder Autumn days, with a 6 step sunflower bird feeder idea.
You will need; sunflowers, string and a small screwdriver.
- Cut the heads off your old sunflowers once they are dried out and no longer full of the yellow brightness they once had.
- Remove the old petals and rub away the middle to expose seeds.
- Use a small screwdriver to put four holes in the head on opposite sides.
- Loop your string through these holes ready to hang.
- Hang the sunflower head from a tree or fence ready for the birds. For larger sunflower heads, you could lay a bamboo cane across the head for birds to perch on.
- Step back and watch out which birds in your garden enjoy their new sunflower seed treat.
- As we move out of summer and into the colder months our feathered friends are out looking for food as it becomes harder to find so this could be a vital source of food. It’s also a good idea to leave some water out for the birds to have a little drink too!
Lee is proud to have featured on Blue Peter, BBC Radio 1 and Channel 4's Sunday Brunch. He has created a kitchen garden for TV presenter Jimmy Doherty, built a garden taxi for Kew Gardens Grow Wild Project and designed a show garden for the International Gardening World Cup in Japan.
You can listen to the Skinny Jean Gardener Podcast, sponsored by STIHL, every Friday morning from 6am. Visit http://www.skinnyjeangardeners.com/podcast/ for more.
