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Decorating With Ivy

By Patricia Riley Hammer

IVY Napkin Rings
Cut sprigs of your favorite ivies and crush the bottom one-inch of the stem. Submerge in lukewarm water and let soak for about an hour. Remove, shake off excess water and weave the ends together forming a ring just the right size for your dinner napkins. Using a combination of different ivies will make them very showy and unique.

IVY Placemats
Cut runners of ivy from your outdoor ground cover or a pot with lots of large flat leaves and crush the bottom inch of the stem. Hedera algeriensis is a good ivy for this project. Submerge the runners in a tub of lukewarm water and allow them to soak for about 24 hours. Remove from the tub and shake off excess water. Spread the runners out to dry. After the ivy is dry, remove each leaf from the stem.

Using a round paper doily as the base, the ivies will be glued onto the back. Place the doily flat so that the back side is facing up. Begin by gluing a row of ivy leaves, face side down, all the way around the outside edge of the doily using a hot glue gun. (The new cool glue is much friendlier to use but either will do).

Once that row is secure, start another row and glue these near the outside edge of the layer already fixed. Continue to glue rows of ivy leaves until the place mat is enlarged to the right size for your table and plates. When the mat is turned upright and a plate is sitting in the middle all that will appear is a wonderful margin of ivy leaves.

Wreath made with Metallic Ivy
Cut ivy vines at least 18 inches long and crush the stem base. Submerge the vines in lukewarm water and soak for 24 hours. Shake off the excess water and dry. Dip in clear floor wax or spray with Pogon Leaf Shine.

Shape a wreath using wire or a coat hanger. Spray paint the wire black. Wrap the ivy around the frame and tie with fishline as needed. This process should be done while the ivy is still wet from the wax. Once the wreath is completed and dried, the leaves can be sprayed with gold, silver, or bronze floral paint.

The Ivy Center Piece
Fill a large 8” or 10” plastic pot or azalea pan half full of potting mix. Center a smaller empty pot in the middle. Plant newly rooted cuttings or small pots of ivy around and between the two pots filling with soil as needed.

Allow this to grow until the outer pot is covered. The space reserved in the middle can be filled with fresh flowers or other colorful plants such as begonias, impatiens or poinsettias. Use your imagination and think of other interesting things that will work in the space such as a large candle or hurricane globe with a candle.