use it as a pedestal ... to use pots with some actual amount of media ...

watering is the issue.. in an extremely shallow pot ...

this of course.. make winter storage in that vessel moot ...

would we need to tell you how to winter pots .. or easier... just heal them in mother earth .. and repot in spring ...

im thinking a nice mum ... for immediate impact ....

btw .. the shallow bath .. might work in full shade ... i guess im worried about full sun... and it presumably has no drain hole ....

ken

I wouldn't do perennials in a bird bath. When I plant in mine, I use annuals with shallow roots, and that can take no drainage ... usually potato vine to trail, dracaena spikes for height, and something flowering for the rest of the space. (I don't know the best annuals for your area). In cold weather, I plant winter annuals, and add other interest, such as pine cones and evergreen greenery.

If you do succulents, I think you'd have to drill drainage holes.

Examples (not my pictures)--

Succulents--

mizgg is emperess of dirt.. lol

ken

Ha, Ken! Nope--but I am covered in it most of the time. :D

There are really some beautiful hardy sedums developed these days. If you planted them with the sedum you would have some pretty winter interest decor in the garden. They do not have to be brought in for the winter and many are evergreen.

Check these out. My local nursery has started carrying a lot of sedum. I have two cement planters at the end of the driveway I have been using sedum in them. Sedum Angelina is gorgeous in the Fall and winter.

http://www.sunsparklersedums.com/2014/12/07/new-for-2015-sunsparkler-xsedoro-blue-elf-ppaf/

While these are all good suggestions I encourage people to use bird baths for birds. I know it gets tedious but also know how much birds need good water for both drinking and bathing. IME robins and starlings and blue birds are the messiest. I feed seeds they don't find tasty so have few of those in my yard. Finches and chickadees seem to watch for me to change the water as come almost immediately afterwards.

marquest I love the sedum idea but do you think they will be ok in shade until about 3 pm?

mnwsgal, I have 5 birdbaths I keep full of fresh water. :)

Glad to hear that MizGG.

I only have a single birdbath but I keep it filled with water through the growing season/warm months as the birds--plenty of them--use it daily to bathe as well as to drink. Since I garden for pollinators--bees, butterflies & birds--I can't bring myself to use it for anything other than providing a source of fresh water to help sustain them. I also set a large bucket beneath my breezeway gutter where water pours out whenever it rains. I haven't seen critters drinking the water but I do use it to water my plants.

I found it difficult to keep succulents such as sedums alive in a pan without drainage holes, and they also wouldn't like the mostly shade setting. Do you have a sunny spot you could set it in?

I could find another spot for it but it provides a bit of shade to some plants where it is.

Knowing what to plant in shallow bird bath is a great way to repurpose this almost indestructible installation. You will benefit from these bird bath ideas to make your space welcoming and improve your garden’s landscape. And you need to know what kind of plant that is suitable with your location, water requirements to choose right plant.