Topiary Archives - The Salty Knitter

Mini Hosta Turtle Topiary

We’ve had so much rain this spring, I really haven’t accomplished much in the garden. But we finally had some sunshine on Sunday so I made a Hosta Turtle.

Fred the turtle was looking pretty rough after the winter this year. He’d been kicked around and was missing a leg, along with his tail and his head. None of the Hens and Chicks were left, thanks to boy dogs peeing on all the things, so today he got a do-over with a twist.

I meant to try this a long time ago – a Hosta turtle. It works out perfectly, because under the maple tree where he’s located there are too many surface roots. I had a Hosta ‘Sun Power’ there, but the maple tree roots eventually choked it out.

Miniature Hosta

All hosta are highly collectible, from the giants right on down to the miniatures.

The one above has a narrow green edge around the leaves. Here it is pictured next to Golden Tiara to give you an idea of the size.

Miniature in green with a white edge on the leaves.

The blue crinkled leaves of Church Mouse

Mini Skirt, showing cream for early spring it will brighten to white and blue as the season goes on.

I used a few pieces from this mini-Hosta from the garden. I don’t know which variety it is but it’s quite small, along with some Blue Mouse Ears.

Materials:

You can buy a lot of the supplies at the dollar store. The sphagnum moss can be a bit harder to find, try nurseries, any place that sells orchids may have some. Sometimes you’ll find it in the reptile section of pet stores – it’s used for bedding. I’ve included some links below that may be helpful but please note – they are affiliate links.

4 – 4″ Clay Pots
12″ Wire Hanging Basket
Plastic saucer or plate to fit bottom of basket. I used a melamine plate from the dollar store and drilled drainage holes.

florist wire
2 pieces of chicken wire, 1 approximately 12″ x 8″ and another around 10″ x 6″.
4 washers.

Sphagnum Moss
Potting soil.

Directions:

Form the larger piece of chicken wire into a tube and close one end.

Fill the head with moss.

Use the florist wire to attach the head to the basket.

Repeat with the smaller piece of chicken wire to make a tail.

Line the basket with moss, leaving a space for the potting soil, then set aside.

If you haven’t already, drill your bottom plate or plant saucer. You will need one hole for each leg plus some drainage holes.

Thread a washer onto some florist wire and up through the bottom hole of the clay pot.

Thread the wire up through your bottom saucer/plate. Secure all 4 of the feet. You can see that rather than have them attached at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock, it’s more 1, 5, 7, and 11 o’clock.

Fill the turtle shell with potting soil.

Use florist wire to secure the saucer in place.

Plant your Turtle!

Notice I’ve only planted Hosta at the top. Had I planted them along the sides, they might have looked fine for this season but I don’t think it would work when they re-emerge in the spring next year. Hosta know up from down, so the new spring growth would all head for the top. Other than that, plenty of people overwinter Hosta in pots so I think this will work out fine.

I added some creeping jenny for the bottom half of the shell – just so you know, it will root down where it touches the ground and it is a perennial.

Like the look of Mini Hosta and looking for more planting ideas? Check out some of my other ideas here – Mini Hosta

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Plant a Mannequin for Your Garden

I know I should wait until tomorrow and get prettier pictures for this post, but I won’t. I just finished planting my tomato cage mannequin and I want to show her off now! Here is how to plant a mannequin for your garden!

If you missed my post yesterday, I showed you there how to make your own mannequin from tomato cages!

I was a bit worried that my mannequin would end up like the owl or the bunny and I wouldn’t like it plants. So before planting my mannequin, I spent some time on Pinterest for inspiration and ideas. I think most are done by floral designers and worth looking at first.

Choosing plants

I planted my mannequin with 2 flats of seed begonias and four small spider plants. When I couldn’t decide what color of begonia to use, I picked the mixed trays. I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for mixed flats of flowers anyhow, I just love seeing the colors all jumbled together.

I also used a bunch of Tradescantia (Wandering Jew) and a pretty small-leaved English Ivy. All of these are plants that do well at my house, where it’s very shaded. Which plants you choose should take into account your own climate and conditions.

Planting the Mannequin

For the bottom of my mannequin, I used cuttings of the Wandering Jew. It roots so easily, that I just stuck them right into the moss.

It seems like there always has to be that one blurry picture in the bunch, but here she is with the first flat of begonia.

And here she is finished! I pulled the ivy apart and separated the plants. I used florist wire to ‘pin’ it where I wanted it. Ivy has aerial roots, so it should eventually settle into the moss where I’ve pinned it. For anyone disappointed that I did not use succulents, there are 92 begonia plants in her skirt. If I had used succulents, that would be over $200 worth of succulents.

First sunny day, I’ll get her outside for some beauty shots! What do you think?

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How to Make a Tomato Cage Mannequin

For a while now I’ve wanted to make myself a planted dress form but looking at prices for those wire mannequins that wasn’t working for me. So I made my own from tomato cages. Keep reading if you would like to see how to make a tomato cage mannequin for your garden.

Tomato Cage Mannequin Materials

Please note – some of the following links are affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through my link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

For the frame you will need:

2 tomato cages, one smaller than the other. The most critical part is that the middle hoop of the smaller cage is the same size as the bottom hoop of the larger cage.
Chicken wire. I’ve included a link, but try your local dollar store or hardware store. I get mine at the dollar store for $3 for a small roll.
Galvanized wire
Florist wire
Snips and Pliers
A Dremel tool with a cut-off is very helpful.

If you are mossing and filling your frame to plant, it takes a lot of moss. I used 5 of the 1/2 lb bags to moss my frame plus a large bag of potting soil. You don’t have to moss your frame if you decide you just want an ornament for your garden.

Making the Tomato Cage Mannequin

To make the frame, you will trim the large cage below the bottom ring and the small cage below the middle ring (leaving the middle ring and top largest ring). The large cage becomes the skirt of your mannequin and the small one is the bodice or torso.

To give your mannequin a bit more definition, bend the top hoop of the small cage into an oval. Use one of the vertical wires as the center of the front and bend the top ring so it starts to suggest a bust. Then add a ring of heavier wire to further define the bust. If you make an eyelet in the ring, it is easier to fasten securely to the tomato cage.

My original plan was to make a two-part frame, but once I started adding the chicken wire, it seemed better to cover it all as one.

Here you can see the fully covered frame. My topiary was going into a pot, so I did not cover the bottom. If aren’t putting yours in a pot you will need to cover the bottom and probably reinforce it by running some galvanized wire across the opening. (see my succulent turtle instructions for how to do this)

Mossing and filling the mannequin

If you decide to moss your mannequin to use it as a planter, you will need a lot of moss.

Sorry for the blurry photo, but the way I did this is I would moss a little way up the sides and then add soil to that part before moving up to the next section. Or that’s how I did it after a couple of hours avoiding doing it.

In this photo you can see that I filled it in layers. I still have to close up the top with a piece of chicken wire and plant her. She is about 3 feet tall (not including the pot) and I’m satisfied with how she turned out. I was a bit worried that my mannequin would end up like the owl or the bunny and I wouldn’t like it planted. So before planting my mannequin, I spent some time on Pinterest for inspiration and ideas. I think most are done by floral designers and worth looking at first.

Choosing plants for your mannequin

I also used a bunch of Tradescantia (Wandering Jew) and a pretty small-leaved English Ivy. All of these are plants that do well at my house, where it’s very shaded. Which plants you choose should take into account your own climate and conditions.

Planting the Mannequin

For the bottom of my mannequin, I used cuttings of the Wandering Jew. It roots so easily, that I just stuck them right into the moss.

It seems like there always has to be that one blurry picture in the bunch, but here she is with the first flat of begonia.

When I started the mannequin I was pretty set that she was going to be my last topiary for a while, but of course I’ve already got another idea swirling around in my head. All told, I spent 3 evenings on this topiary and even planted she cost less than a pre-made mannequin.

Let me know what you think of her in the comments!

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Spring Pansies, Another Turtle Topiary

For a fresh pop of color in the spring, I adore spring pansies! Especially if it’s a mix of color like these are. We’ve finally had a break in the weather here so I’ve had a look at all the yard work I need to do.

Unfortunately, my turtles from last year did not do so well over the winter. I blame myself for not properly winterizing them and the dogs for doing what boy dogs do. Because of the dogs, this turtle needed a complete do over instead of a simple replanting. Which gave me the perfect opportunity to make a better video of the process!

To make this Topiary you’ll need:

Most of these items can be purchased at a dollar store or nursery. I’ve included some helpful links for the materials below, they are affiliate links.

A small roll of chicken wire
A 14″ wire hanging basket
4 clay pots – either 4 or 4 1/2″ will work.
Florist wire and a heavier gauge wire.
4 washers
Sphagnum moss
Potting soil.
A pair of snips to cut the wire.
Pliers
A flat of pansies.

Building the topiary is the same process as the Succulent Turtle but you can check out the video too. I’m getting a handle on the technical side of recording video tutorials so it’s better than the first one!

I’ve talked a couple of times about alternatives to succulents when planting your topiary because not everyone has the right conditions for growing succulents.

This topiary planted with spring pansies looks so cheerful on my deck that I’m glad I tried it myself. Later on in the season when it gets too hot here for pansies I’ll replace them with begonias.

Want to see more? Check out another version of this turtle here – Hosta Turtle

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Topiary Care – Inside and Outside

One thing that I have not discussed here is topiary care. A lot depends on what you’ve planted your topiary with, but topiary are unusual planters with their own logistical quirks.

Topiary care outside

Larger topiary, like Fred, can live in your garden as long as you’ve planted them either with annuals, or with winter hardy succulents like Hens & Chicks. I’ve seen rose cones suggested as a winter cover, but since these guys are kind of big, maybe a Styrofoam cooler would work. Either way, you’ll want to keep it in an area where it’s protected from snow and rain for the winter.

Watering outdoor topiary is as simple as a spray with the hose. One of the fabulous things about sphagnum moss is how readily it will absorb water. Plenty of commercial potting mixes are near impossible to re-wet once they’ve dried out, but moss always soaks it right up. The flip side of that is if you have a long rainy stretch, and you’ve planted your topiary with succulents you may need to move it to a more sheltered spot.

Topiary Care Inside

One thing worth pointing out first is that not all succulents tolerate being grown in moss. The spiky green one I originally planted in this planter quickly rotted, and again when I replaced it with another the same. Since then I’ve replaced it with a different upright succulent that does fine growing in the moss.

In a newly planted topiary – like the toad – I check on the plants often to make sure they aren’t showing any signs of rot, especially that one because I’ve never grown stone plants before.

Indoors, just like most pots, chicken wire topiary can mark surfaces so you will need a tray or saucer. I like the cheap clear plastic saucers and size my topiary to fit them. I let the topiary I keep dry out completely before watering, and when I do water them I just fill the saucer. The water gets soaked up through the feet without saturating the moss.

Planting your topiary

Please don’t think you’re limited to succulents when you plant your topiary! Any low-growing plant will work, I can’t wait to try seed begonia in my outdoor turtles as soon as the garden centers open. Indoors, I’ve planted one with mini African Violets. You could try Baby Tears, creeping thyme, English Ivy or even a snake plant. Use whatever plants grow well for you and make you happy!

When I’m planting my topiary some leaves will get knocked off, succulents almost seem designed to drop their leaves easily. I take any leaves in good condition and allow them to dry out for a bit. Once the stem end dries, I lay them on top of some soil and wait to see if they’ll start a new plant. I’ve had some successes but they take a long time to grow!

If you do happen to make a topiary from one of my tutorials I would love to hear about it. You could even post a photo to twitter and give me a shout – @shadegarden.

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