Winter Horticultural Therapy Projects

By Pat Czarnecki, HTR
GreEn’ergy, LLC

Basic Bird Feeder
Use heavy cardboard tubes (e.g., center of papertowel roll). Drill small holes in cardboard tube at top to string for hanging and down tube to insert wooden stick perches (dowels or rustic tree branches) for birds to rest. Cover tube with peanut butter or flour/water mixture (natural glue) and roll in favorite birdseed mix. Decorate with dried flowers, leaves, mini pine cones, seed pods, raffia (paper ribbon), etc.

Alternate to cardboard tubes: x-large pine cones.

To keep squirrels away: hang with nylon fishing string.

Other Ideas
*Force bulbs, flowering branches

*Grow sprouts for a salad

*Trade or exchange indoor plants

*For Valentine’s Day make heart shaped ivy topiary using wire shape.

To learn more about Horticultural Therapy for Seniors, please visit
http://www.recreativeresources.com/programming-horticultural.htm