Topiary Projects

Topiary projects are simple but time consuming. You can cover a topiary form with fresh, dried or silk flowers and greenery to create a display for your home and garden. Cover the topiary with fresh fruit and place it in the center of your next holiday table. Topiaries are classically elegant no matter how you choose to make them.

Fresh Flower Blossom Topiary

Create a topiary with fresh rosebuds or other fresh flower blossoms as a centerpiece for a special occasion. To make any size fresh topiary, you'll need a planter, dowels, floral foam balls and a floral foam block. Floral foam holds in the moisture that fresh flower blossoms need. Spray paint 1/2- to 1-inch diameter dowels to match the design and use them to connect the floral foam ball topiary tiers. Cut the floral foam block to fit inside the planter and insert the tiered topiary into it with another painted dowel. Attach the fresh blossoms to the foam tiers with straight pins or use their own stems. Craft moss or decorative stones to camouflage the foam inside the planter.

Silk Ivy Topiary

Create two silk ivy topiaries to stand outside the front door of your home. The construction is similar to the fresh flower blossom project, with two exceptions. Use Styrofoam balls rather than floral foam; the silk plants do not need moisture. Spray paint the Styrofoam balls dark green so they will blend in with the ivy. You can use straight pins to attach the ivy, but hot glue works faster and better. Create the topiaries with three graduated tiers. Place the largest ball on top of the planter, and then use painted dowels to attach a medium and then a small Styrofoam ball. Drape the ivy down over the dowels as an added design element. Ivy is just a suggestion; you can use any type of silk flower or silk flowering vine to make the topiaries.

Fruit Topiary Centerpiece

Creating a fruit topiary centerpiece is a time-consuming project, but the results are worth it. As with the other designs, build the topiary using Styrofoam balls rather than floral foam. Paint the Styrofoam to blend in with the fruit or cover it with fabric. Select lightweight fruits such as strawberries, cherries, grapes and plums to fill in the topiary. Insert a toothpick halfway into one side of the fruit, and then insert the other end of the toothpick into the Styrofoam. Cover the foam balls with the fruit, tie a ribbon around the planter base and place it on the table.

Keywords: fresh flower topiary, silk topiary, fruit topiary

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