• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

December 20, 2012 · Leave a Comment

This Holiday Decoration is for the Birds

How to

holiday decoration finished

Not perfect, but fun.

twig ballsSince the summer, when I went on a garden tour in Hudson, Wis. (a highly recommended tour) and saw these twig balls, I’ve been interested in making some kind of twig decor. You can buy them in many nurseries and garden centers, but I wanted to try my hand at making them. First I checked youtube, where I found one decent video, but when I tried to replicate the instructions, it was a complete fail. My twig circles kept boinging open.

orb with greeneryI gave up until I went to the Rice County Master Gardener holiday party, where one of the gardeners (Karen) showed me how she did the circles. Using large branches (willow or red twig dogwood work well), she lashed two branches together at the thick end using 18 gauge wire. The branches should be facing the opposite direction, so you have one very long branch, which is tied in the middle.  Then, bend the branches around so that they form a circle. You can twist them around each other and then lash the ends together, using wire. Make four circles using this method. The circles need to be very close in size. Then, fit the circles together to make an orb. You may need to use a bit more wire to keep everything together. My orb was not nearly as neat and shapely as Karen’s but it was an something close to an orb.

computer and grapefruit ornament for holiday decorationI decided it might make an interesting outdoor ornament, if I dolled it up into a bird feeder. I started by adding greenery, which was pretty easy to wind into the twigs. Earlier this week, I watched a video from the Daily Connoisseur on making ornaments using dried citrus. This was very easy to do and cute. I took my dried grapefruit ornaments, added dental floss, so they could be hung from the orb, spread them with peanut butter (make sure the citrus slices are not too thin — one of mine broke during the peanut butter speading), then dipped them in bird seed. I also used a margarine tub top in the center of the feeder/orb. The top is also spread with peanut butter and covered with bird seed, and I used duck tape to attach the tub top to the branches in the center of the orb.

holiday decoration with bird seedI added a thick holiday ribbon at the top of the orb so it could be hung from our maple tree out front. I’m not sure how long this will last and I plan to monitor it today because the wind is supposed to pick up. What fun projects have you done this holiday season?

Related posts:

  1. Holiday Containers by the Numbers, Part 2 With the basics of container design in mind (see previous...
  2. How to Create a Holiday Pot on the Cheap It’s easy to spend a lot of money on holiday...
  3. This Christmas Tree is for the Birds This weekend, I finished up the last of my outdoor...
« Beautiful Seeds
How I Shop for Seeds: Catalogs and Online »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

mynortherngarden_mary

It’s National Gardening Day! I’m not much for It’s National Gardening Day! I’m not much for special days (sorry, siblings, I missed that one last week) but any excuse to post a picture of a gorgeous peony, I’ll take! 

Peonies are a huge part of Minnesota’s horticultural heritage. They aren’t native but our cold climate is perfect for peonies. They’ve been hybridized in Minnesota for over 150 years, and the state still has several peony breeders based here. If you ever get a chance to go to a peony open day in June, jump on it. Seeing rows and rows of peonies all blooming at once is a northern gardener’s joy. 

Peonies will last forever, too. Plant one in the right place and it will outlive you by decades. What’s your favorite plant? 
.
.
.
#nationalgardeningday #nationalgardenmonth #garden #peony #horticulturalheritage #garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo #gardenblogger 
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b #nofilterneeded
This week’s podcast and blog post are about grow This week’s podcast and blog post are about growing summer bulbs. I grow lilies in containers, 1) because they look great and 2) because the rabbits 🐇 can’t get them as easily there. Growing bulbs in containers means you can move them around the garden for extra color where you need it. 

Bulbs aren’t that tricky to grow, though you will have to pull dahlias, gladiolus and canna lilies for the winter. Lilies can stay in the ground. This winter, I left some in their pots and held  them in the unheated garage. They survived and are already putting up foliage. 

Check the 🔗 in bio for links to my interview with Mike Heger as well as the blog post on growing bulbs in containers. 
.
.
.
#bulbs #summerbulbs #lilies #liliesinpots #containergardening #summergarden #garden #mygarden #monalisalily #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
In bloom at the big box store: Columbine! These lo In bloom at the big box store: Columbine! These look pretty but most of the in ground columbines are just greening up in Minnesota. That’s one thing to remember when shopping for perennial plants now. If it’s in bloom, it’s a spring plant and will probably be green all summer. Nothing wrong with lots of spring bloom in the garden, but plan for the whole season by picking things that bloom in July, August, even the fall, too. 
.
.
.
#columbine #plantshopping #gardentips #minnesota #mngarden #coldclimategardening #zone4b #springblooms #garden #perennials #perennialgarden #perennialflowers
So many things are suddenly blooming! . . . #spri So many things are suddenly blooming! 
.
.
.
#spring #springinmn #bulbs #forsythia #irisreticulata #squill #earlyspring #garden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b #seenonmywalk
Uff da! This seems really early for daffodils 🌼 Uff da! This seems really early for daffodils 🌼 in Minnesota. Last year, I posted my first daffodil photo on April 12, and it was in snow ❄️! No snow this year, and this tracks with the info I heard earlier this week that we are 10 to 14 days ahead of schedule. I’m enjoying the warmth but can’t shake the memory of 2019’s mid-April blizzard. The joys of cold climate gardening! 
.
.
.

#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo #spring #mnspring #daffodil #springbulbs 
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
This weeks podcast is about rain gardens with Madd This weeks podcast is about rain gardens with Maddie Poling of @sacredspacegardensmn while rain gardens are great for water filtration, they also can be incredible pollinator gardens, especially if you plant lots of milkweed. Link to the entire episode is in bio. 
.
.
.
#growitminnesota #raingardens #pollinators #pollinatorplants #milkweed #growitandtheywillcome #coldclimate #coldclimategardening #minnesota #mngarden #gardenpodcast #mnpodcast
Fun news 🗞! I have an essay in the upcoming iss Fun news 🗞! I have an essay in the upcoming issue of Gardening for Health, a special interest publication of Better Homes & Gardens. It’ll be on newsstands and in grocery stores, home centers, drugstores and more starting tomorrow. The essay is about why gardening matters, for our health, our spirits and our communities. I haven’t seen the layout yet, but I’ll be prowling my local Barnes & Noble tomorrow! Can’t wait to see it. 
.
.
.
#gardenwriter #gardensmatter #gardeningforhealth #bhgspring #bhggarden #bhgspecialinterestpublications
Wondering what winter burn looks like on shrubs? C Wondering what winter burn looks like on shrubs? Check it out. I’ve got three of these dwarf Alberta spruce. This is the worst case. One has no burn, the third just a bit. This one faces south so it gets the most sun and wind. After it starts growing this spring, I’ll trim off the burn. May need some wrapping next winter. 
.
.
.
#whatswrongwithmyplant #winterburn #evergreen #albertaspruce #dwarfshrubs #dwarfspruce #garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #notpretty 
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b #coldclimategardening #mnwinter
A pair of crocus cuties. This spring is coming on A pair of crocus cuties. This spring is coming on fast, though we know Mother Nature can slam on the brakes anytime she wants. Enjoy the early blooms and have a great weekend! 
.
.
.
#crocus #springiscoming #minnesotaspring #springbulb #flowergarden #growflowers
#flowersofinstagram #plants #garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
My conversation with Amy from @milkweed.and.daisie My conversation with Amy from @milkweed.and.daisies on the @growitmn podcast got me thinking about annuals that are easy to grow from seed. There are a lot! She grows some I haven’t had in years, like hollyhocks and snapdragons, plus plenty of my favorites. Seven really easy options are listed in a new blog post (🔗 is bio) on the My Northern Garden blog. Cosmos, zinnia and sunflowers may be the easiest of  all. 

The sunflower 🌻 pictured is The Joker. The zinnia photo is one I took of the zinnia beds at the @ballseedgardens I’m not sure about the cosmos, which are from a tour garden. 

Plant any of these annuals in sun and let them grow. Suggestions for annuals to try this year? I’d love to hear them! 
.
.
.
#annualflowers #cosmos #sunflowers #zinnias #growfromseed #growyourownflowers #coldclimategardening #minnesotagardening #northerngardener #zone4b #mnpodcast #gardenpodcast
The 3+ inches of snow from a couple of days ago is The 3+ inches of snow from a couple of days ago is melting, and the crocus continue to bloom. Hang in there, little flower, spring is on the way. 
.
.
.
#bulbs #springiscoming #springbulb #minnesota #crocus #meltingsnow #garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
Crocus so soon! I was taking apart the holiday pot Crocus so soon! I was taking apart the holiday pot and noticed three crocus blooms in my south-facing front bed. This is a full week earlier than last year, and that felt early to me. They’ll probably get snowed on come Monday. 🌨🌸
.
.
.
#minnesota #minnesotaspring #crocus #earlybloomer #springbulbs #garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • Growing Lilies in Containers
  • Mushrooms Growing in Straw Bales
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • Will the Redbuds Bloom?
  • Taking the Straw Bales' Temperature
  • An Easy Way to Protect Plants from Rabbits and Deer
  • How to Build a Vegetable Garden Box for Your Deck
  • What to Do with Not-Quite-Ripe Winter Squash? Recipes Included
  • Conjoined Daisy

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2021 · captivating theme by Restored 316