Have any of you tried making butterfly baths and birdbaths using leaves set in concrete ? It is so much fun and I think they are pretty neat.
I will post two pics of some small ones that I have made and two from elephant ear leaves
This message was edited Jun 24, 2009 11:00 PM
Elephant Ear leaves
I've seen those before and thing they are amazing! How labor intensive are they to make?
X
Beautiful!!
Great Job!
Those are really nice! I have one that I bought at a craft show a few years ago...but its a hosta leaf. I have it within my hosta bed and I keep water in it for the birds.
They are not difficult to make. I would suggest working with a few friends since it is easier to mix a large amount of the concrete mixture and do several at one time.
I first saw these at Riverbank Botanical Gardens during their ? Spring festival. The girls making them had the large leaf ones that sat in flowerbeds, etc. The smaller ones were on a metal rod (apprx. 30") that connected to metal piece made into the concrete. I can find the rod at Lowe's--it is called a threaded rod-- for around $1.25 but I can not find the connector piece. Still working on that.
This is the forum that gives great instructions for making the concrete leaf. I did not do the two layer thing with mesh or wire in between.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/533171/
Thanks for the link .. I'll give it a whirl.
X
I want to do some as stepping stones, but they will definitely have to be either supported by brick/packed sand underneath or use chicken wire etc. as reinforcement. It is the flexing that causes the cracking.
BSD, I am pretty sure that would have been BJ Brown who was doing the leaf making demonstration at the zoo. She does demonstration at the Master Gardeners Symposiums all the time. I think she would be happy to tell you where to get the mystery part.
Dmail me if you would like her contact info.
alice
I love the Elephant Ear leaves, those are so cool.
Saw some with Rhubarb leaves in the NW. But it is too cool in the winter to grow EEs there. Big Leaf Maple is aslo used back there (leaves about the size of a dinner plate)
Any other local "big Leafed" plants around here ?
As soon as I am back from Australia I will be getting cement and trying this and Hypertufa. Maybe we could have a party?
What technique did you use to paint your EE ??
I select the base color that I want using acrylic paint. The paint is then watered down to be used more as a wash (?4 parts paint to 1 part water). You can then paint it on with a brush or sponge. This is not detailed painting you just want the color to show. As in this one I am posting you can tell that the base coat is green. Let this coat dry. Next coat is a color called burnt umber which is a dark brown. Water this down just a little and then brush or sponge it on. Immediately go over it with a dry cloth. You only want the dark color to remain in the leaf veins. If it is a large leaf you may want to do this last step in sections since you don't want to loose your base color. The last step is to spray it with EXTERIOR polyurethane. This will be your sealer and I usually use two coats. There are many detailed ways of making these leaves that require alot of time and effort. I think they should be fun and you should just receive the joy of knowing that you did it.
I think that the exterior polyurethane is called a "spar" type?
You have done a beautiful job. I have been reading up on the painting and I agree it should be fun !!!
