From My Garden to Yours: Pelican & Flamingo Bird Templates

This flamingo keeps watch over an ornamental garlic and group of impatiens.

The weather has been so lovely lately and absolutely perfect for gardening. With blue skies and gentle breezes, I haven't been able to resist getting out there and know I'll be glad I did when the heat of summer arrives.

This guy belonged to my great-grandmother. She gave it to my mom and my mom let me have him.

Apart from my great-grandmother's garden gnome, my absolute favorite garden accessories are several vintage wooden flamingos on stakes and one lone pelican. Over the years they've weathered beautifully to where you can see the grain of the wood. Neat patches of moss have replaced old paint, and the flamingos have faded from their original pink color.

I love how the wood grain is exposed.

Just in case you need a flamingo or pelican of your own, I've included a template below for you to download. Just click for the larger version and drag it into your desktop. You can enlarge or reduce as needed.

This pelican came off his stake, but sits quite nicely at the base of a newly planted king palm.

If you want to put one on a stake, simply drill a hole near the bottom. Using needle nose pliers bend a thick wire through the hole and squeeze it tight. You can always use one of the stake legs from a tomato cage if you're hard pressed for a thick enough wire.

A close up of how the stake is attached.

Here's the template: