Beauty and the Birds

Grains like wheat and oats serve a dual purpose when used as outdoor decor, filling in bare spots and serving as food for feathered friends. Plan to replenish these decorations at least once during the holiday season.

 

Birds love milo, millet, and wheat.

Treat the birds to a winter feast and your home to an elegant touch. To decorate your empty window boxes as shown, partially fill each box with sand and insert bundles of wheat. Add more sand around the bundles to keep them standing. Finish by wrapping each box with a garland of milo, millet, and wheat stems wired together.

 

Beribboned oats grace a
fencepost.

Hang sheaves of wheat and oats on doors, or tie them with wide ribbon to posts or trees, as shown. Trim the sheaves with more bird-friendly treats such as berries, popcorn and cranberry garlands, and dried orange slices.

You can also cut slices of stale bread into holiday shapes with cookie cutters, then use a bit of wire to attach the shapes to your bird-friendly decoration, or hang it from one side with an ornament hook. Or make a whole garland for the backyard by stringing together cutouts from a variety of breads, like white and pumpernickel.