Make an Ivy Topiary

I love having green plants in my home, but I do NOT have a green thumb. How about you? There are a few indoor plants I can keep alive, but I had this spot I would like to have an ivy topiary. The first thing I had to decide on was what kind of topiary. There are all kinds of topiary shapes. I didn’t want to make an ivy topiary on a grapevine wreath or a heart topiary, so I opted for this ball topiary.

When it is time for a change in decor at home for me, it is time for me to start getting crafty.  I absolutely love english ivy and thought I would try to make an ivy topiary.  

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I began with one of my terra cotta pots that I had aged with paint.  

Wedging a piece of styrofoam tightly in the terra cotta pot for the base of the topiary.  

I picked up 3 branches in my yard, choosing as straight of pieces as I could find.  Cutting the branches to the same length before I will secure them together.

It was important to use floral wire to secure the branches as tightly together as I can to serve as my trunk for my topiary.

 I pushed the end of the the bundled branches into the styrofoam in the flower pot.

For the top of the topiary, I firmly secured a 6 inch styrofoam ball firmly onto the branches.  If you don’t want to use styrofoam, you could use a round wire frame for the top of your topiary.

Using floral or “s” pins, I secured preserved moss onto the the ball.   I continued pinning the moss onto the ball until it was completely covered.

The same moss was used to cover the styrofoam at the base of the plant, also.   One full faux ivy plant would serve as my greenery for the topiary.  

I selected a nice faux english ivy to use to create my topiary.

Next I used wire cutters to cut the different stems of the ivy apart.

Using wire cutters, I cut each stem off of the plant.   Beginning with the base, I stuck one long ivy tendril into the base and wrapped it around the branches, securing the top end into the bottom of the styrofoam ball

Time to turn it into a topiary!  I began pinning each stem individually, wrapping them around the ball to cover the ball.  

This photo shows the pins I used to secure the ivy.  I had to make sure I used enough ivy to cover all of the pins, too.

     
I have a beautiful new ivy topiary ready to display.  I once read that every room should have one green plant and with my mediocre green thumb, that means some of them need to be artificial.  This is a great addition to the top of my sideboard.