There’s loads of things you can do to turn your backyard into a beautiful garden, and not all of them means spending tons of money on weird and complicated contraptions that are a nightmare to setup. All you need is a little spark of imagination!
Like take for example this neat little trick with rheum or burdock leaves and some cement. You can pave yourself a walkway, or a bird bath, a flower stand — whatever your heart desires!
Just grab a decently-sized burdock or rheum leaf.
Cover it with cement.
Then take a metal grid that about two thirds the size of your build.
Then cover with another layer of cement.
Wait till it dries, then turn over and remove the leaf.
And you’re all set!
You can either paint it or cover it in varnish, both will turn out gorgeous. Even a child can make these things, so you. Maybe there’s even potential for your kid to begin discovering his creative inner self.
Here are some examples of how to use the build for decor:
Like this walkway here.
Pretty eye-catching, huh? That’s not even the best part: you only need to make the leaves once, and then you can rearrange them into whatever patterns you want!
Here’s a guide:
Grab one of the prettier-looking leaves. Remember: it has to be a large one.
The leaf will serve as a mold. Put it on the ground, and then dig a shallow hole in following the shape of the leaf.
Remove the leaf. Cover the hole in gravel and sand.
Make a concrete mix.
The resulting mix should have a texture that is a bit like peanut butter.
Cover the hole with the mix, shaping it into a leaf.
Grab the leaf and press it firmly onto the mix.
Remove it, and deepen the lines using a skewer.
Cover the mix with wet sackcloth, and the mix will turn into stone after about a week. That’s it!
Here’s how to make a bird bath using a similar method:
All done!
Some more examples if you’re interested:
