Create an Easy Lavender Topiary

10 Materials
$10
3 Hours
Easy

These topiaries are addictive I'm telling you, I made my very first one last week and immediately saw another style that I had to try....Lavender!! Let me show you how I went about hacking the look, first and foremost I always keep a photo handy of the real one to follow as a reference.

Reference Photo


Here's the project I'll be using to get the shape and color right to get the right take on my fake! Notice the grayish green foliage, the shape of this one is flat on the bottom unlike my Boxwood style that was completely round.

Gathering Supplies


I'll apologize up front that I didn't use the moss seen here, I did for my last project but later you'll see I came up with a fun alternative to cover the green foam base! 😄 Here's my starting list :- Medium Flowerpot (Ceramic, clay or glass)- Dry Floral Foam- Tiny Tree Branch (Garden clean up)- Styrofoam Ball (baseball size and smaller based on flowerpot size)- Glue gun and gluesticks- Faux Lavender Bunch (Darker purple shade)- Faux green grass-type foliage (grayish-green)- Moss, small pebbles or glass gems, etc. (cover base)- Skewer stick or knitting needle (pierce the ball before adding stems)- Tiny amount of light green paint (camouflage the white ball) - White Spray paint (matte)

Shape the Styrofoam Base


To get the shape correct I sliced off one side of the ball to give me that flat underside seen in the real one. I gave it a quick coat of light green chalk paint because if there are bare spots after I fill it with greenery it won't be as noticeable....light green against light green right? So, glue the ball onto the twig and the twig goes glued into the foam and the foam is glued into the pot and the pot sits on the table... down in the valley-oh! Singing it to the tune of a childhood song, Bog down in the Valley-O?? Oh dear I just had another Covid 19 daydreaming moment....sorry!

Making Faux Look Real-Greenery


Back to the project.... I had some plastic Lavender bunches that had pink tips, hmm the foliage was right but the tip color was off?? I simply cut off all of the tips to get rid of that fake pink! There that's better but they were still a little off in color, not white enough. Outside I go with my white spray paint, a little light spray here, a little there and I solved that!

Making Faux Look Real- Blooms


So as with the other stems, these were close but not quite. Maybe you can find more realistic supplies but I'm using what I have on hand in my craft stash! I needed a skinny stem with a little Lavender bloom at the top, seen in the reference photo. So the really, really fake foam greenery....I stripped that off along with the big wire stem they were attached to.

Keep Placement In Mind


Looking again at the reference photo at the top, the blooms are sitting higher above the greenery. I noticed my first one was a little lower but that's okay, live and learn. I also bunched up the actual flower along the stem to make them more round, less elongated and hot glued it in place. The other greenery curves around to give it that round shape. Therefore "the part that would go glued into the ball", I twisted the wire almost at a 90* angle so so the stem would then follow the curve upward and NOT stick off straight. Here are the steps:- Snip your green stem for your length (about 4"-6")- Bend it to make the L shape angle at the bottom- Insert into the ball DRY, no glue yet to check your bend first. If necessary readjust the bend, if it's all good then go ahead and glue it in place

Review and Make Revisions


Just as one issue gets solved another one pops up to test you, that's the great thing about creativity....it challenges your brain! You see over the years this poor little twig got tested too with wind, ice and snow until it got a little bent outta shape. I can fix it easily by taking the ball off the top and cutting the twig a little shorter at the top, as marked in the photo and simply glue the ball back on.

Standing Straight and Posing Pretty


Nothing to it, the branch is now straight and the ball is completely covered with foliage. I spun it around a few times to spot check and fill in bare spots in order to make it look as thick and full bodied as the reference topiary.

Optional Step I Chose


Since there's still restrictions on shopping here, I have been using craft supplies that I have stockpiled over the years! This was a plain glass dish that I painted with the piece of sponge using an old product I still have, Martha Stewart's frosted paint. I gave it two coats of paint to give it a deeper shade. I thought the Lavender dish would tie in nicely with the faux plant, again this is just simply showing how I adapted it to this project. NOTE: Use whatever you have, a terra cotta pot, a ceramic glazed pot is what I used last time just make sure it's not lightweight because it has to hold up to the top heavy weight of the topiary ball!

Use What You Have


I am still laughing at this one, I bought these years ago for a recipe but I conveniently used pre-cooked ones instead. I had since brought them down to my craft room for a weight base if I made standing fabric snowmen, owls, etc. Well I'll be crafty and just call me Martha...the beans look like little black pebbles right?? Are ya with me??

Into the Pot They Went


Don't bash me because I didn't cook them, they still went into "a" pot!🤣😂😄 Aren't they darling, the dark color against the pastel pot I just have to remember NOT to water this plant! Hahaha, Martha would die at my improvising with simple, inexpensive black beans but that's how come she's rich and famous and I'm not!!! * I covered the floral foam with green painters tape first to create a solid, clean surface to pour the beans onto. This way if I want to freshen up the beans or add something different for filler it will make it an easier, cleaner swap.

Display


I've gotten topiary bug out of my system now with this one and my first one seen in this previous post here I" target="_blank">http://www.hometalk.com/diy/decorate/rooms/how-i-made-my-first-topiary-44297429I" target="_blank"> http://www.hometalk.com/diy/decorate/rooms/how-i-made-my-first-topiary-44297429... I hope these inspire you to try making one as well, use what you have at home right now and make it a fun crafternoon! Stay well and stay safe!

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  • Susan Susan on Jul 25, 2020

    So cute! I have many lavender plants outdoors and I will be making presents for friends and family with your inspirational topiaries ❤

  • Fly Fly on Jun 07, 2021

    So you put a fake plant in it? Right? Otherwise won't the beans sprout if they are watered?


  • Debra Debra on Jun 07, 2021

    Wonderful project and so cute! How large is the pot? How tall is the plant?

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