Make a Birdcage hanging plant

Published: Wednesday, 13 September 2017

I have a confession to make. I kill plants. Not in a viciously intentional way, though. I try to keep them alive, but I don't know, its like they need water or something? I am a neglectful plant serial killer.

The problem is that I love plants. I love how much life they bring into a space, and how bright and green they are (when they aren't dying). So I keep buying them in hopes that one day I'll actually be good at it. And I am getting good at it...not at caring for them, but I'm getting good at buying plants that actually thrive on neglect. My hard work is paying off!

Cacti and succulents are my favourite by far, but they're not the only ones that can stay strong even under the hands of a forgetful owner. I'm not going to give you a lecture on plant species here, because who am I kidding? But if you are like me, Google them. There is a whole bunch of self-reliant, independent plants out there.

I've had this birdcage for a long time. I actually bought it at a thrift store with a different project in mind, but that never happened. So the birdcage sat on my studio shelf for a while, staring at me, waiting to become something. Its time finally came when I decided my studio needed more plants (it doesn't really, I have several in here, but how many is too many?).

It is a super quick, easy project... and the hidden 'gem' is that it's not ALL real plants, so I know for sure at least half of it will stay green forever. If you would like to make one, here's what you'll need:

- Birdcage (you can find them at many home decor places, or check your local thrift stores)

- Faux greenery (big bonus if it actually looks real)

- Real plants of choice. I chose English ivy because I like the shape of the leafs, it falls nicely (perfect for a hanging plant), it's relatively easy to care for, and it's very inexpensive.

- Miscellaneous tools:

- Spray paint (if you wish to paint your birdcage). I used Rust-oleum in Oil rubbed bronze.

- Sharp scissors

- Gloves (for painting)

The first step will be to spray paint your birdcage, if needed. My birdcage had a green-ish patina resembling weathered copper. Nice, but not what I was going for. So I gave it 2 coats of paint all around.

Note: Make sure to protect your surface before you spray.

While you wait for the paint to dry, take your faux greenery and scissors and separate them into individual stems (mine came in a bunch).

Once the paint is fully dry (usually around 1 hour), start weaving the faux greenery around the base of your birdcage, forming a ring, and allowing some of the leafs to peak through and hang outside of the cage. Use as many pieces as you can to cover the base and make it look full. This will help hide the pots of the real plants that will sit inside.

Then take your real plants and carefully place them inside the cage. My cage had large openings on the sides, and the pots were made of flexible plastic, so I was able to squeeze them through without much trouble. The plants I bought actually came with 2 pots each (a plastic terracotta-looking one, and a smaller black one inside), so I removed the bigger one and kept only the black one, which worked great because it blended in nicely with the cage.

I played around a bit with the longer stems to get them to peak trough the cage's openings and hang outside.

And then it was done!

I hanged it in my studio using a small hook and anchor. Easy peasy!

This hanging plant is the perfect addition to my favourite corner in my studio. Right where my main sewing machine sits. It's super bright, I get to look outside all day while I sew, and I have all my little plants keeping me company.

I'll probably have to switch the Ivy for all faux greenery sooner rather than later, because dead plants don't look so nice hanging over your head. But I will enjoy its real prettiness for as long as I can.