Pinterest Inspired Christmas Topiary

So this post has been sitting in my dashboard for almost a week. Each time I tried to sit down and finish it, something came up, such is life with two kids.

A while back on Pinterest (follow me here) I saw a couple different ideas I really liked. You may have seen them too...

 source: lucydesignsonline.com via Pinterst

source: nedesignbuild.com via Pinterest

I love both ideas, but the first one didn't have a tutorial, so here's my version of their idea. Both are made out of tomato cages, but since it's late in the year and I'm not a gardener, there was a distinct lack of said cages. To make my own outdoor Christmas tree I had to improvise.

The hardware stores may not have tomato cages this time of year, but they do have plastic bush/tree stakes. I grabbed three of those, but four probably would have been better considering the planter I used.

So you'll need:

3-4 tree stakes

Christmas Garland (I used 3 from Dollar Tree, each was 15 ft long)

A pot or planter (mine was from Dollar Tree, but you may already have one)

Lights 

Christmas Ornaments, if you choose

wire and glue, optional

Start by drilling holes in the planter where the stakes are going to be inserted.

Glue could be good too. I didn't use any by you may want to.

Wire the tops of the stakes together and you have the form of your tree.

Next, you'll wrap your garland around the form. Don't pull it too tight or it will bend the stakes inward. You may find that you'll need some wire to keep the garland from slipping down or out of place.

Finally, decorate. I used a string of 100 lights and some spare shatterproof ornaments. I also filled the planter with some rocks from the backyard to keep it from falling over. All in all it cost me about $7.

The little man helped me a little so he wanted to pose with the tree.