Deb - That is an attractive and functional idea!

May I make a suggestion ... try using the foam or vinyl poster board instead of cardboard. (I have gotten them at the Dollar Tree store for a buck a sheet.) And then use construction adhesive to attach the pennies to the vinyl/foam board. That will make it weather proof so that it lasts a long time. I love how it looks! Very fancy necklace for around the plants! If you don't have a large enough bowl to trace out the pattern, try using a thumb tac in the center with a string attached to the center and use a pencil (attached to the end of the string) to draw the first circle, then lengthen the string to make the outer edge of this necklace.

Your idea of cardboard would work for a short time until the cardboard decomposed. I don't know if Elmer's glue would hold up to water from rain or hose/sprinkler watering. I'd make one or two or three to last as the design looks like it would indeed deter slugs!

Do let us know how it works against slug attacks. I'd be interested to know your results.

I love this idea! Becky had some great suggestions on making it hopefully last longer, but it is a great idea to begin with! You put so much work into it that I think I'd try anything to keep it going longer. I really love how it looks! Can't wait to hear how well it works! Even if it doesn't do what it is intended to do, I love it!

Aluminum foil pizza pans, those throw-aways: just use a rolling pin to flatten the raised edge and cut the center out as Deb says. Then use E6000 glue for the pennies and it will last forever. The foam board that Becky mentioned would work too, but might break as foam board often does when stepped on. I'm notorious for stepping in the wrong place in my gardens. Anyway, seems like those pizza pans that are like 2 for a dollar at any dollar store might last as long as the pennies do. Elmer's glue is water soluble, but the E6000 works well for any outside crafts.

Great idea!!

Sharon - Oooooh! I like your idea even more! Aluminum pizza pans and E6000 glue! Perfect!

I agree with Natalie ... if you are doing all that beautiful work to add so many pennies, make it last for a long time! What a great idea you came up with Deb!

How about covering the tops of bricks or pavers. You could lay them in a variety of patterns around your plants.

Or, how about a piece of window screen instead of the cardboard. That would let water through, most glue would stick to it, and it would last a very long time. I'd be tempted to use a hot glue gun, since the glue is so cheap.

I think it's sure a sign of the economic times that we don't think at all about the value of all those pennies!

There was a comment on another thread about how little copper there is in newer pennies. Dave says that since 1982 pennies are no longer made of pure copper, they are copper plated over some other metal. (the copper was worth way more than one cent, I'm guessing)

It really is very pretty, but do let us know if it works as well as we think it will?

The screen would be great but I know the hot glue won't hold up to weather. It's a lot like ceramics or pottery, there is a chemical change that causes it to contract and expand in hot/cold weather. The fluctuation makes it pull away from what it's touching. It might stay on the screen, but I think it might pull away from the pennies. Of course my experience has been in KY weather. Might not happen in Florida or in the NW where the weather is not as extreme in one way and then in the other.

Great thought about the screen, though, Elaine!

Jay, I love that idea! I have a slew of old bricks and pavers, both that were left by the previous owner, and that I have scavenged and bought on clearance. Now to just collect all the pennies laying around the house...

I was despairing of ever getting hostas to grow in my daughter's garden in Salt Lake City, but I think it may be possible with this collar around them!

You're right about the glue, though, Sharon. I'll raid my husband's supply of marine adhesive he uses for our boat . . that should hold pennies to screening forever!

You're right, the marine glue will be perfect. But I'm trying to figure out what to put the screen on when gluing because the glue on the pennies will seep through the holes and will stick to whatever is beneath the screen. What do you think??

Elaine, I grew hosta in Salt Lake City without any problems. I did have a few slugs, but never enough to stop the plants from growing. I mulched really well, but if I pulled the mulch away when they started growing, it seemed to help a lot.

I was thinking about the glue going through the screening, too, Sharon. The answer is we need to have the screen suspended in a frame, glue the pennies to it while it's suspended, then cut the screening after the glue is dry. A modest dot of glue for each penny, hopefully not too much would drip, but a sheet of newspaper underneath to catch the drops . . . might work.

Thanks, Natalie. I'll try pulling the mulch away if I can't make enough slug necklaces . . . my daughter's yard at the previous house seemed to have 'way more than its share of snails. We blamed the neighbor, who had a huge old above-ground pool (not ever used) that we think harbored a large snail metropolis.

I don't know why you couldn't just put the screen on cardboard and use the screen as a middle layer. The cardboard will eventually dissolve, and you will have the screen and pennies left.

Regardless of what anyone uses to glue the pennies to, I love the look of this ring! It looks elegant to me!

Suspended. Perfect. Thanks Elaine.

I'm like Natalie. I like the looks of it.

Deb, you did good!

Thanks, everyone, and great suggestions for improvements. It was kind of a whim of the moment and I just went with what we had on hand. So far, it is holding up OK. The Elmer's is still holding up, although it may well degrade by the end of the season. My chickens have also scratched at it and flung pennies here and there, but again, not too bad. As expected, the surrounding plants have mostly hidden it now, but the slug damage to the ligularia is noticeably less than usual.. This is my test necklace, and I think I will make more permanent rings for next season, using water proof glue and perhaps one of the suggested alternate bases (although cardboard is plentiful and free).

Hope you get time to post updated photos, Deb.

I have always reckoned it is better to eat snails back. I have been doing all my reading on fattening the garden variety (and collecting recipes). I have done it before in '91. This time, I/they will be better prepared.

When I start after this winter, I will be posting updates in 'Edibles'.

Yummy times coming for all.

I use an old plastic shower curtain underneath when making things that tend to be messy. Plastic from the dry cleaner works well too, and easily torn away when stuck to your project.