DIY ivy topiary

          Good morning, I hope you guys are up for another post involving Mother Nature.
      I'm on a roll cleaning out my summer pots and I hate to trash perfectly good plants, so...

I created these topiaries from ivy I took out of my window boxes.

 They easily transition to holiday decor

 by placing a few sprigs of faux red berries throughout the ivy. 

Watch for them to show up as holiday decor in a few weeks,

 along with the paperwhites I planted.  

No window boxes with ivy??  No worries, you can always purchase an ivy plant.

They're available at Home Depot for about $10-15, which may sound a little

pricey, but if you were to buy a topiary this size it would run $20-$40 each.

These are large - wine bottle for perspective!

  

  

 

                     ~ Removed from window box, replant in a decorative pot

                     ~ Place topiary form into the soil

                     ~ Starting at the bottom wind ivy vines around the stem of the form

                     ~ Removing leaves until you reach the base of the ball

                     ~ Continue winding vines around and over the form

                     ~ If you like you can leave a small section to trail over the pot, eventually.

 

 This one needs to fill in a little more, to cover the form....it won't be long.

All shapes and sizes of forms can be purchased from a nursrey.

Instead of purchasing a round form I made mine from a hanger.

Secure the wire in a vice and use pliers to form the shape.

                     Leave a good amount of wire at the bottom to be inserted into the potting soil.

 

                                                        

                   ~ Starting at the bottom separate the vines

                   ~ One at a time wind them securely around the wire form

                   ~  After all the vines are on the form, tuck loose leaves into vines to shape

All of the plants at my house get watered once a week,

no matter the type or needs - they all seem to adjust. :) 

                                                             Ta - Da!  You're done!