CREATE A DIY BOXWOOD TOPIARY WITH THESE EASY STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS.
There it was again. The catalog arrived in my mailbox. The one that always displayed the artificial boxwood topiary I had my eye on forever. Time and again my mind had it pictured sitting on my mantel adding just the perfect hint of the outdoors to my to my decor.
That lovely topiary would already have arrived at my door – if it didn’t have an equally “lovely” price tag.
And maybe another for my kitchen counter … and another for the bathroom – because everyone needs a “pop of pretty” in their bathroom!
But my pocketbook couldn’t afford one – let alone three.
A few short days later I was making my “weekly” daily visit to Hobby Lobby, (it’s my personal addiction) when I ran across the perfect greenery for a boxwood topiary. It was a plastic bush, and I am not a fan plastic of flowers. However, this one had great coloring and excellent shading and looked much like the real boxwood topiaries would be made of.
And my mind began swirling with plans to create that “lovely” boxwood topiary!
How to Make the Perfect Boxwood Topiary
Start with a round Styrofoam ball, (the one I used was 4 inches), and the bush purchased at Hobby Lobby or something similar.
Step 1. First, make a small hole in the Styrofoam ball where we will later insert the main stem of the topiary. I used the point of a small knife to make the hole.
Step 2. Take each branch and separate it from the bush. You can see here the sections that remain have enough stem in between to leave a perfect piece of stem to work with.
Continue by cutting the stem apart with wire cutters to obtain even smaller “picks” of the branch. If the pieces feel like they are going to slip off of the stem, just put a small dot of hot glue on the underside to adhere it to the stem.
Step 3. After the branches have been cut into the small sections, begin inserting them into the Styrofoam ball placing them evenly over the ball – leaving the hole where we will be inserting the main stem uncovered.
Make sure the stems are inserted fully into the Styrofoam.
And let’s add some variety to our fake boxwood topiary!
To add even more variation to the look of the ball, I chose a stem of what looked like variegated boxwood again, found at Hobby Lobby. Cut it apart in the same way I had the prior stems and add them to the Styrofoam ball.
One of the bushes and one stem of variegated greens did an excellent job of covering the ball.
Step 4. Once the ball was covered, I took a large stem I had left over from a flower used on another project and inserted it into the hole I had made before. You will need to use a heavy stem.
Insert the stem into the ball approximately 2 inches. If you don’t have a leftover stem, you can use a dowel rod or branches you find outside – as long as it is something sturdy enough to support the weight of your topiary ball.
Step 5. I then filled a small terracotta pot with Styrofoam pieces I had left over from past projects. Glue the larger piece in the bottom of the terracotta pot and add small additional pieces to anchor it.
After preparing the container, just insert the topiary stem deep into the Styrofoam. Tip: I like to put my topiary into a terracotta pot first so I can then drop it into any decorative vase I want as my decor changes.
Once I had the artificial Boxwood Topiary completed, I slipped it into a ceramic stone vase. I loved the finish on the stone. It fit in well with neutral the look I was using on my spring mantle. The base was finished off by adding a bit of ivy.
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One boxwood topiary is never enough!
I created another ball in the same way and leaving the stem off simply placed it on top of a smaller container and had a matching piece for my mantle.
Take a peek at this spring mantle makeover HERE.
With the low-cost of these DIY boxwood topiaries … now I can afford that “pop of pretty” in my bathroom too. 🙂
Do you love topiaries? I’d love to hear about your favorites!
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beautiful my cherished friend. You know how much I love topiaries,and well, anything you make ! I miss you xoxoxo P.S. your blog has grown and is receiving the kind of attention it deserves. 1000 pins on this post alone, fantastic!!! I am so sincerely happy to see your success.
You make it look so easy! Thanks for the directions, your pictures are lovely!
Thank you for stopping by Bev! I hope you try these sometime and let me know how they come out. And thank you for the kind comment on the photos.
Love these topiaries and so simple, yet elegant.
I use these topiaries all of the time. They are so easy and make a great look!
I’m with you! I love topiaries and I love boxwood; some of my favorite things. These were lovely!
Debi, I love the spring topiary and I am excited to make it. I appreciate your step by step instructions. It is beautiful. Where did you find the birds you used? Thank you for sharing. Donna
Donna ~ I found the birds at TJ Maxx a couple of years ago.
I use them in several of my vignettes during the year. Good luck with your topiaries!
Debi
Thank you for this helpful post. I love topiaries and I’m looking forward to creating one of my own. This is the first time visiting your blog, I really enjoyed looking around – I’ll be back.
Diane ~
Please do come back. I hope to share even more topiary DIY’s. They are some of my favorite things.
Debi