Finally - The Spring Tree!

Yea! It's finally been nice outside and I could go out and clip some branches to make the spring tree. I also was able to start some garden clean up. (But only in some areas as I still have 4 feet of snow on some of my gardens on the north side) I'm getting ready to start shoveling it in to the warm areas so it will melt. Or maybe not. Maybe I should let Mother Nature do what she does and I'll use my time more wisely like showing you how I made a little spring tree to use as a display for my birdhouse designs.

#1 - Find a container that you'd like to use. I had a terra cotta pot in just the right size, about 4" diameter at the top. Because it had a hole in the bottom for drainage, I lined it in a double layer of plastic wrap. I don't want water seeping out.
#2 - Cut a piece of floral foam, the kind that you soak in water, to fit into your plastic lined pot. Tuck the edges of the plastic in.
#3 - Cut your branches so that the height is where you want it to be. I gather my branches so that the tops look good and hold mine together in a bunch and just cut off the bottom with my pruners. The branches that I clipped are curly willow, but you can use almost anything.
#4 - Start sticking the clipped branches into the floral foam, pushing them down all the way into the pot. Cluster them in the center of the foam rather than around the pot. That gives you a place to arrange some moss to look like grass. I grew this variety, but if you don't have any moss growing in your yard you could buy some sheet moss at a florist or at the craft store. Just tuck it right in and around your branches. What a mess I'm making!!!

#5 -Trim the spring tree with tiny tied ribbons. Use lots of pretty pastel colors.
That's it for today. Keep your pot watered and with any kind of luck you might see some leaves breaking out. The next post will show the tree trimmed with the birdhouses. And there are a couple more birdhouses coming.
Enjoy!
Robin