Sunday, November 13, 2011

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!


                                                                            

11 comments:

ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...

I LOVE ivy topiaries, and your right buying ones like these are very pricey! Yours look great! Martina

Lori said...

Beautiful topiaries! I'm inspired to give them a try. You are Mother Nature's best friend.

Dana Frieling said...

Okay, it's official, you don't just have a green thumb... you have 2 green thumbs and 8 green fingers!

Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles said...

You are just too smart! Nothing beats free, natural decor. Those will be fabulous all through the winter!

Holly Gruszka said...

Your past two posts remind me that I want and need some foilage in our home - either a plant or some fresh flowers. I might need to give this a try. I do love pointsettias for the holidays but they won't last very long.

Divine Theatre said...

Very elegant!
It is simple to propagate ivy by putting sprigs in a glass of water by the windowsill. Just be sure to keep the water clean and you will always have ivy!

Thanks for visiting my blog. I am your newest follower!

Andie

Hills and Valleys said...

I LOVE the idea - but I especially love that the wine bottle (for SIZE perspective) is missing about a glass' worth of wine. Huh.

Carly {a simple affair} said...

Gorgeous! What a beautiful addition to your home. Will absolutely be coming back to this post when I have my own ivy :) Where are your pots from? I absolutely love the detail on them.

Anonymous said...

Very nice ideas! Thanks for the blog so you are sharing with all of us! YOU made MY day! :)
Delecia Robin Reynolds/Mound, Texas

Greenhills Nursery Ltd said...

Thanks for sharing this wonderful post. I love all the images of this post and really appreciate you for this this informational post. All these Topiary plants are beautiful and well managed. Keep it up for this post.

Eleanor Murphy said...

Wow, a homemade topiary plants. Your idea is really amazing I will try to copy this and combine it with the artificial topiary planters I previously incorporated in my home decoration.

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