Lynn, I cut out a long strip out of a roll of burlap and made that shape and added wire that I spiraled out for more strength. I sewed all that together and painted on the concrete. I need to test them out to see about their strength. I would need to get back next summer to know the integrity of this design. I am finding though that the white Portland cement is better than grey.

All I can say is WOW!!!!

Oh stop it... Ok... go on.... So you think shells have potential? I am still on the fence. My "wasp nests" turned out better than hoped so. Hopefully these will to. I used straws to create drain holes on them. I am most proud of that perfect drain hole.

I can't wait to see them planted.

I can't believe I read the whole thing. But I did. Now I want to do this thing. Are tomato cages strong enough to be frames? I guess that depends on the weight of the fabric. I've found a whole bolt of muslin, plus all my quilting leftovers. I've "starred" some of the posts from Dave about the method. How do I retrieve the starred posts, please?
I was also thinking maybe I could use the muslin as a liner for a crocheted piece, would that make it stronger? Or is it even necessary? I think I'm being incoherent. In fact, I'm sure of it.

Can't remember who did the shawl container, but Holy Wow! I loved it in place with no plants, just loved it. Just perfect in that setting. Ok, I'll be quiet now and go make a list of all the stuff I need to get to do this.

Just one more question. (Promise) Is there a reason against using a sheet of plastic between the mold and the cement cloth rather than spraying the mold with Pam or some such? Ok, I'm done, but I want this right now.

Hi Carol, I am the one who did the shawl piece if you mean this one in pic below.

I think the tomato cages would be ok if you folded the ends that go into the ground down as they are pretty flimsy. My large shawl one has done fine with no supports at all. I think some people have been using pam spray but I have not tried this. I have been using shopping and trash bags. I have found they give a little buffer room when pulling the concrete off of the mold. In my opinion that is the hardest part is pulling it off while it is still pliable enough and at the same time having set enough to be able to stand on its own. Good luck with your project. Please posts pics for us when you get some done.

Oh and to look at your starred pages go to your profile and you will see a link there.

Very nice using your shawl piece in the background to add even more interest to the vista behind. Your foreground of plantings look great, Audrey. Nice photo.

Audry - yes, that's the pic. It looks like the ruins of a cathedral in the midst of Mother Nature's revenge. I just love it.

Thanks for the info everybody. I can use trash bags , and the stars are on my profile, and fold down the ends of the tomato cages. And find a table to do all this on.

Thank you Bev, I have it filled with just sedum now. It is simply planted but its hardy and looked great when it was in bloom.

Carol, I did not have a good table spot for making these either. So what I did is I took four pallets and stood three on their sides and balanced one on top and wired them all together. I am sure if I had wood working skills I could have figured something better out. It worked though and the extra splatters of concrete fall under them to be easily cleaned up later. I also spread out trash bags on the work space depending on what form I am doing. I set this up in area that most people will never see when they come over. I can leave the area as a work space and not have to worry about meticulously cleaning it up between projects.

Trash bags can be used several times depending on the quality. The new more landfill friendly kind of shopping bags only last one time and will be brittle after one use. Also, it is useful to drill your holes for drainage while your doing your first cure time. Sometimes they will make tiny cracks when you do them when completely hard. Any of those tiny cracks can be repaired with second coats. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the tips, Audrey. I've just remembered I have a table size piece of plywood out in the shed. Just need some sawhorses and I think that will do it. I, too, have an area where I can leave everything set up. Its out of sight, of course, which means I could very well forget about it unless I make notes for myself.

Here is an updated photo of what my shawl is up to.

Nice, Audrey. To me it looks "other worldly"!

pardalinum said:Nice, Audrey. To me it looks "other worldly"!

That is the best compliment ever!!! I like to do what I call fantasy gardening. So... thanks a bunch. A look I was going for.

Something I should try someday!

@Esperanza
Thank you, Audrey for posting pics of your creations. You have given me some inspiration and ideas of certain things I have been wanting to create.

pardalinum said:Something I should try someday!

Do it!!! And post pics

Rainbow said:@Esperanza
Thank you, Audrey for posting pics of your creations. You have given me some inspiration and ideas of certain things I have been wanting to create.

In your climate you could do an amazing adenium peice that would blow peoples minds!

That looks great, Audrey. With the weather last night it's on my mind, so I wonder how strong that would be in a hail storm? It hailed here three times last night, but I lucked out again because it was more like sleet on steroids than hail, so once again I escaped any serious damage. Hardly any discernible damage.

Audrey, I'm speechless. Fantasy, indeed!