DIY Network

Metal Flowers, Part 1 Plant a playful garden that lasts forever. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-124

The flowers never wither, the leaves never fall and insects will never eat the flowers. After all, they're metal.

Michele Beschen shows how to plant up a garden of whimsical metal flowers made from copper tubing and galvanized roofing material. Her blooms stand 3-4 feet tall; you can make yours as towering or petite as you like. The techniques are easy, and the results are fabulous; scroll down for her how-to.

Create an enduring garden spot...

With these whimsical flower breeds.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D

Metal Flowers

Materials:

galvanized roofing metal
tin snips
gloves
machine screws, size 6-32 (3/8" or 1/2")
copper tubing
colored electrical wire (automotive wire works great and comes in a variety of colors)
contact cement

• While wearing gloves, cut flower shapes out of your galvanized roofing material with tin snips (figure A). Michele Beschen chose galvanized material for this project because it's sturdier than aluminum.

  Safety Alert: Always wear gloves when cutting roofing material; the cut edges are sharp.

• Give your flowers some personality: Paint them up with fun and whimsy and add special details. For example, Michele Beschen glued electrical wires between two roofing tin discs (figure B), then painted the wires and made them the center of a flower (figure C).

• When your flowers are in shape, it's time to think about foliage. Flatten the end of a piece of 3/8" copper tubing and attach it to the bloom. Use two screws to attach; if you use just one, the flower will spin around. One of the screws should go through the center of the flower into the pipe.

• Cut leaf shapes from your metal. Paint these up with just as much personality as you did your flowers. You can even punch holes around the edge of the leaf and "sew" it with wire to break up a too-perfect edge (figure D).

• To attach your leaves, drill through the copper tubing and screw the leave to the tubing. You don't need to flatten the tubing for this. Space them randomly, and wrinkle the leaves slightly by bending the metal at a few points.

When you're satisfied with your manmade leaves, it's time to plant them. Go to
Part 2 to learn how to make cement "feet" for your flowers.