DIY colorful insect hotels as garden decoration

Today I designed a small gift for our bees in the garden with the children. A colorful collection of insect hotels that add a touch of color to the garden fence all year round.

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DIY colorful insect hotels for the garden fence

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When we moved in 6 years ago, we got our first insect hotel as a gift and it is now fully booked every summer and I love watching the bees busy filling all the holes. Since we still have a lot of space on the garden fence next to the insect house and the spot also looks a bit bare when the clematis and ferns are no longer green in winter, this was the perfect place for the decorative hotel update. I found the little decorative birdhouses so cute in the store that I took them with me right away. Filled with straw, pieces of bamboo or small wood, they can also offer insects shelter.

Material for the insect hotels

For fastening

This is how you design colorful insect hotels on the garden fence

First I painted the insect house and the bird houses with acrylic paint. The children also wanted to help. So it turned out to be a nice little craft project in the afternoon. After painting, I sealed all the houses with clear varnish to make them a little more weatherproof and stay beautiful for longer.

First I determined the spot for the large insect hotel and then gradually arranged the small houses around it. I first attached them to the fence with a nail and tape and later glued the small houses with the hot glue gun.

Since the bird houses are a bit too big and empty for the insects, it is best to fill them with small trees or pieces of bamboo with a cavity for the bees. I’ll collect some more material on the next walk in the woods.

Anyway, I’m really happy with the end result. It’s a pretty focal point in what was once a bare corner by the garden fence. And I’ve already discovered that the bees have accepted the new hotel! Yeah!

You also want to make the birds in the garden happy? How about a new feeding station or bird bath?

All the best,
your Maike