Easy to Make Topiary

The sun has been out the past few days and it has me thinking Spring. I can't wait to start seeing some green  again! So, in the spirit of green, I thought I would share how to make this easy topiary. I have made several of these and have them in different spots throughout the house. They are great for me because I can't seem to keep real plants alive indoors. I can grow almost anything outside, but any live plant in my house has pretty much received a death sentence.

Here is what you need for the project.
1. An urn or container of your choice, the opening should be about 5 1/2 inches wide.
2. A round twig ball, available at Hobby Lobby and many other craft stores.
    These come in different sizes, I used a 5" ball for this project but you can use a size bigger if you like.
3. One ivy bush, you need one that has some vines that are about 24 inches long.
4. A block of florist foam.
5. Excelsior or moss.
6. Thin wire

 Cut the florist foam with a knife so that it fits securely into your container.

 Cover the foam with your excelsior or moss

Push the ivy stem down into the foam until it is secure.

 Spread the ivy branches out evenly into a circle.

 Set your twig ball in the center.

Start pulling the longer ivy branches up and around the ball. Curve them around in different directions so they aren't totally  uniform. You can poke the ends of the vines down into the ball or secure them with a little piece of wire. I like to leave a few of the shorter branches free at the bottom to frame the top of the container.

 That's it! A pretty, easy topiary. No water needed just a little dusting. Actually, when my silk plants do get dirty, I pull them out of the container and clean them off in the sink with water. If it's nice outside I spray them with the hose. You can hose off the twig balls as well and it doesn't hurt them a bit.

                                        Jodie