what about an old hub cap or pie tin hung up with string or wire?

I'm afraid that idea falls under my DH's prohibition of hanging anything that you can tell is a piece of junk.

He's very particular about anything visible from the street.

Find a large clay pot saucer.....you can often find them very cheaply at garden centers or discount stores that have been chipped.
Place it in a old plant hanger.
A old ceramic pie plate will work just as well.

I used a plant stand and a shallow cupped serving platter. A macrame pot hanger would work to hang that. My DH is anti-garden because he wants to fill the yard with junk- cars- oh and I end up having him do the REALLY heavy work and attaching hooks to walls and decks- LOL

Hi, I'm new to this forum but am definitely a frugal gardener so not sure why I haven't been here more.

I suggest you have a look at the GW Garden Junk forum and you'll see some birdbath totems. If you are not familiar with glass garden totems they are pieces of glass glued together - I use GE Silicone II. If you use a glass or ceramic platter for the top piece and keep it full of water the birds will likely use it.

Glass garden totems can be very decorative and are not "junky" looking.

Here's a link to a birdbath I made years ago and sold.

Here is a link that might be useful: my glass birdbath

I got lucky browsing junk stores yesterday.

The proprietor of one was grateful that DH, who is an amateur collector of blown glass decanters, helped her get the correct stoppers matched to an unusual, multi-part decanter she had for sale so she gave us a 14", plastic plant saucer in a neutral beige and a reasonably tasteful macrame plant holder free.

I just have to drill holes for the holder's hooks and find the right-sized chunk of broken, concrete paver to get the weight and balance right.

It won't be anything to turn cartwheels over, but it won't look like junk.

BTW -- the glass pieces are quite striking. Definitely something one could proudly display front and center as the focal pice of a yard.

But I think that it would be unwise in my location. Sunlight focusing through the glass could potentially start a fire in the dry pine straw that is so ubiquitous here and which is my primary garden and landscape mulch.

I have an old free-standing bathroom towel holder that I glued an inch deep plate to (cost me 65 cents at goodwill). The towel stand is perfect because it has a weighted base, unscrews for cleaning, and instead of hanging towels from the hoops I can hang potted plants!

Hope that helps!
~Laura

Here is a link that might be useful: towel rack

I actually have an upturned dish antenna that the satellite company replaced. You could potentially dress it up with one of those spray can of paint to make it look like bronze, copper, stone, whatever you fancy. The paint is available in home depot. You could either hang it from something or use the towel rod idea to hold up..

Here's what I came up with. DH drilled holes into the plant saucer for the hooks and I added a rock so the birds could choose their depth.

{{gwi:51691}}

One side of the trellis is planted with Trionfo Violetto beans, the other is planted with Insuk's Wang Kong runner beans. I put winter squash seed into the remains of the old compost pile that was where the birdbath is now planted.

Its not fancy, but its perfectly presentable from the street and from the neighbor's driveway and patio. :-)