I remember how fascinated my children were with the Disney characters made from live plant material when we went on a family trip to the Magic Kingdom many years ago. It crossed my mid that children look upon gardening as magic – what a concept!
Anyone, whether adult or child, who has seen outdoor topiary knows the delight and joy that some of the whimsical creations can elicit. Here are a few ideas for helping your child create a menagerie of topiary that can live outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter.
Some items you’ll need include pliers, wire cutters, wire (coat hangers will do), wire mesh or chicken wire, some fine wire, pots or suitable containers for growing, potting soil, sphagnum moss, twist ties, and several English ivy plants or creeping fig.
| A Simple Topiary Figure |
This is the easiest to build and care fore. For this project, you’ll require all the items in the foregoing list.
Using the pliers, straighten the coat hanger, then bend it into any shape you desire – an animal such as a rabbit, cat, pig, duck, or sheep; a tree or heart; or the child’s first initial. Either leave some of the wire attached to the bottom of the frame to act as a stem to insert into the potting soil or add wire hoops along the bottom. Attach the wire mesh to the form by laying over the form, tying it on with the thin wire, and cutting off the excess. Put the potting soil into the pot and stand the form in the pot on its stem, or peg it or pin it with the wire hoops. Plant the ivy at the base of the figure and water well.
As the plants start to grow, direct their growth by tying them to the frame with twist ties or a fastener that will not injure their stems. Clip off wayward stems and leaves to maintain the original shape. Your form should be covered in three to six months.
| Advanced Topiary |
An older child would find this type of topiary more satisfying.
Use the items mentioned earlier. The chicken wire can be formed into any shape, limited only by your imagination and manual dexterity. Fill the shape with the sphagnum moss and poke the plants in between the holes. Keep the entire structure will watered, and guide and trim the plants as they grow. The shape could be placed in a large, shallow container also planted with other small plants, or decorated with rocks, shells, or bits of wood.
