I couldn’t help but go with that corny title. (haha) This was a fun project that B made for the garden this year. Jeff and B wondered about painting rocks to look like strawberries, hearing that the birds would peck them, realize they were no treat (and no fun at all to peck), and then be deterred from eating the strawberries in the garden. Hmm… too good to be true? They wanted to find out.

First they found stones that had a “strawberry shape.” Then B went into creative mode. I thought he was going to simply paint them, but he took it one step further and fashioned stems for each one with a 3D pen. (Have you ever used one of those? He has really enjoyed creating things with the 3D pen.) He painted the stems, then he attached them to the stones with a hot glue gun. (Oh, and putting a protective coating over the painted rocks helps them last longer in the elements.)

When the stone strawberries were ready, they were placed strategically around the garden, near where we were growing strawberries.

Every time we picked strawberries in the garden, we could see if there were any marks left behind from insects or birds. And you know what? We noticed far less damage (and loss) on our strawberries from birds this year!

Did the stone strawberries really help with that? We think so. I wasn’t convinced they would help when I first heard the idea, but encouraged the pursuit, thinking that if the stone strawberries did help that would be really great. I’m glad Jeff and B pursued the idea, and that B enjoyed making them so much. We have all sure appreciated having more strawberries to eat this year, and will definitely plan to use the stone strawberries in the garden again next year.

I’m sharing this project here for your strawberry growing inspiration! With the colder months ahead, it’s a good time for cozy projects, like painting stone strawberries, in preparation for next year’s garden. If you have children in your life, this is a project that many children would love to get involved in. The stems were a fun addition B thought up, but a 3D pen is not necessary for this project. All you need are stones, paint, and some creativity!

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P.S. For more inspiration on growing strawberries in your garden, check out this post- Keys To Growing More Abundant Strawberry Harvests. Growing strawberries vertically has also reduced the amount of bird damage we’ve had with our homegrown strawberries as well.