Topiary - creating a simple garden sculpture from moss and wire. Moss is beneficial to use in the autumn, as it is not afraid of frost and, with the right content, the moss will retain its green color until spring.
For sculpture (topiary) you will need:
- Annealed galvanized wire , Diameter 5 mm (for outer frame);
- Annealed galvanized wire, Diameter 1-2 mm (for tying the frame and reinforcement);
- Contact welding machine (preferably);
- Armature cutter (bolt cutter);
- Pliers;
- wire cutters;
- A can of green paint;
- Moss for topiary;
- Warm water;
- Bucket.
Moss for topiary can be found in shaded plantings or dense forest, on rocks. Or buy at a garden store.
1. For a better understanding of where and how to bend the wire, I advise you to draw the figure in profile at 100% scale. To create a topiary layout, you can use a sheet of fiberboard or plywood. You will still need it to create other frameworks for sculptures.
2. We create the base of the topiary, the frame of the future sculpture. On the frame you need to take an annealed wire with a diameter of 4-5 mm. I do not advise you to take unannealed ordinary wire, because. bending a 5mm steel wire rod is unrealistic.
3. We connect the elements of the frame with each other with a knitting galvanized wire with a diameter of 1-2 mm. We weld the main stress points by spot welding. If there is no welding machine, then we use a larger amount of knitting wire.
4. Even galvanized wire will rust over time. Yes, and we do not need the white frame to be visible through the green thickets. Therefore, we clean the wire from dust and dirt and cover it with a layer of green paint from a balloon.
5. Fill the finished frame from the inside with wet moss. If in some places the moss does not hold and falls out of the frame, you can immediately close this space with knitting wire. To save moss, to give the desired shape to the topiary and the weight of the sculpture, we use a mixture of earth and chopped straw. The mixed mass must be moistened, formed into small lumps, then placed in the center of the frame structure and compacted.
Wire frame can be used:
- to create a neat crown of a shrub;
- for climbing plants;
- for planting plants in it (flower crops, lawn grass);
- for filling with moss, polyurethane foam;
- for filling with stones (gabions) or other bulk materials;
- as a basis for a sculpture made of concrete.
The frame for topiary and garden sculptures can also be made from twisted mesh .