Inspiration and Advice

Turn your bird bath into a stunning potted feature

Turn your bird bath into a stunning potted feature
Melissa King
Garden Expert & TV Presenter
Better Homes and Gardens

Container gardening expert Melissa King shows you how to transform a bird bath into a decorative pot and put your plants on a pedestal with this striking foliage combination.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 x Northcote Pottery cementLITE Bird Bath
  • 1 x Bag of quality potting mix
  • 1 x Green Aeonium arboreum
  • 3 x Sempervivum tectorum
  • 3 x Carex flagellifera
  • 3 x Crassula ‘Campfire’

Put your cementLITE bird bath in the spotlight with fiery succulents and flowing bronze grass.

Start by drilling a series of holes into the bottom of the bird bath bowl, to provide adequate drainage for planting. Then plant the Aeonium at the centre of the bowl. It displays big rosettes of fleshy foliage, which provide wonderful structure and form and look good in every season. Now alternate the Sempervivum, Weeping Brown Sedge (Carex flagellifera) and Crassula ‘Campfire’ in a circle around the Aeonium, for a beautiful display of bronze, fiery orange and deep red colour.

Tip: Place your bird bath planter in a sunny spot at the entrance to the house or nestle it in a garden bed for a splash of vibrant colour.