THE HOUSE WHISPERER

FAUX GRASS TOPIARIES…THE NEW CHIA PET. 

I have a few samples of the Grass Tex hi-tech grasses we used on the segment this week and, have decided that if we can have faux grasses under our feet, why not add some to our garden as a GREEN way of having a little potted plant life around.

MATERIALS - 

STYROFOAM

STYROFOAM GLUE OR WHITE GLUE (I love the Styrofoam spray glue – best choice)

I used larger packing foam pieces that I retrieved from a local store. They have shipments in all the time and have to throw away all the packing…it is a plethora of styro-foam and cardboard!

SHARP KNIFE

Next, I shaped the styro-foam into the desired shapes. In this case, I wanted them to not be perfectly round and sculpted…a little more Seuss-like.

BRANCHES (stripped of leaves) – with up to three connecting branches.

Then, I chose some sturdy natural branches from some tree trimming and created the tree shape by gluing my styro-foam shapes as I set them in on top of the branches.

PLASTER

WATER

FLOWERPOTS

DRY MOSS

While that is setting up, I plugged the hole in the flower pots with plastic wrap. Then, I mixed up some plaster and poured it in to about an inch from the top of the pot. I then placed the tree form into the center as far down as it will go. Hold it there until it starts to set up. While plaster is still wet, press dry moss to the top so that it will set in place to cover the plaster.

ARTIFICIAL GRASS

SCISSORS

UTILITY KNIFE

BOWL

Using the utility knife, cut the grass into strips. Trim with scissors, catching the clippings in your bowl. When tree is set hard in the flower pot, spray or paint the glue on the styro-foam shape and sprinkle the clippings to the glue. Let dry. 

This is the basic idea for all topiaries. I would suggest using artificial ivy, flowers or petals as well. This is a great project for center pieces for weddings and parties as you can make them ahead of time and customize the color for your table.

BEFORE YOU THROW THAT AWAY....

MY CHIA PET is a molded foam gargoyle. Yes, that's right...gargoyle. I have two and by next week they will both have a lovely coat of artificial grass. I sprayed them with glue and sprinkled the grass trimming on and now - they are my new Chia pet / sculpted hedges!