While plants are amazing on their own it is even more special to do something creative with them which makes them stand out. My ivy plants have been growing wild and I have been thinking of doing something other than growing them in hanging baskets. I love this variegated ivy a lot and have them in various places in my garden. Few of these ivy plants have grown wild and got tangled in a number of other plants and has become a nuisance. Hence, I decided to shape them into something I'd enjoy watching everyday. I decided that since we are still in the month of February I'd shape the ivy into a heart. Based on the efficacy of this shaping exercise I plan to work on other trailing plants as well in the future.
When I say 'simple' I mean really simple. For the shaping of this trailing vine there is nothing much you need.
Things you need
a trailing vine,
a wire preferably one that doesn't rust a couple of inches bigger than the tube.
a pair of nose pliers,
soft tubing material like the ones used in aquariums and a container of your choice.
If you can find these you are good to go.
I inserted the wire into the tube to create a frame, this I did for two reasons
Firstly to prevent burning of the frail new growth of the vine due to heat from the metal wire in our kind of weather.
Secondly for aesthetic purposes.
Once the frame material was in place I measured and folded the tubed wire right in the middle. Next I created a V shaped bend on the reverse.
Then I curved the sides to form a heart and using the Pliers twisted them together.
The frame is the most important part, it is also very easy. So chose wires which are strong yet pliable. You can create any shape you want with wires and plant your wines around them to give you the desired shape.
I then inserted the twisted part into a another short piece of tube. With this my frame was complete.
The next step was to insert the frame into the container in which the vine was making sure that it was centrally placed. Care needs to be taken to ensure that the roots are not damaged. I used a wooden stick to make a hole an inch deep before inserting the frame in.
Once done I added some rocks on the sides of the frame to keep it in place. However, if your wire is heavy you may not have any problems there. Since the soil I use is mainly coco-peat which is light and tends to be shaky I added these supports.
This done the next step is to ensure that your vines are wrapped around the frame. This needs to be done carefully without breaking the vines. I used a couple of thinly cut surgical takes to keep the vine in place. If you choose a vine that has at least two trailing parts this task can be done easily. I used one with four long trailing branches.
There you go you now have a nicely shaped plant which doesn't clink on to other plants in your garden and create a mess. Like I said this is a simple DIY and anyone can make this. Once the vines establish themselves around the frame this arrangement would be very attractive.
Thanks for all your support and time.
