Wreaths are beautiful on our front doors and when gracing garden gates and even the sides of sheds. Adding even more loveliness than a wreath is having a wreath that attracts and feeds wild birds. In fall and winter I love watching each wild bird as it comes to eat the sumac from the wreath I have made and hung on our door.
To make the natural bird feeder wreath, start with a grapevine wreath for the base. September is the ideal month for collecting natural, organic materials for a wreath. Gather from nature or your garden any combination of these dried seed heads from sumac, elderberry, millet, sorghum, sunflowers, yarrow, or purple coneflower for your wreath. Attach the dried materials to the wreath with floral wire and picks or just poke the stems into the grapevine. The fuller the arrangement, the more beautiful it becomes. Hang your filled wreath where you can be sure to sit and watch the birds feed now through winter!
Note ~ An added warning, don’t be tempted to hang this wreath indoors. After a month or two, moths may hatch! I made this mistake and suddenly one day our bedroom was filled with flying moths!

For more gifts from the garden ideas, you’ll want a copy of Deborah Tukua and Vicki West’s resourceful book, Pearls of Garden Wisdom. Sold here at FATV or at www.hollycreekbooks.com.