Leaves At Last....

Slowly Growing....

My collection of Leafy Stems has been steadily growing, Dear Readers, and even though I have a goal of approximately 120 leafy stems for this shrub and I have only completed approximately 90 leafy stems, it has reached the point when I must begin to attach them to the shrub itself! This is because I realized that the stems need to be attached before the blossoms, to protect the delicate blossoms from being handled too much, and also because the stems have to be attached in order from the lowest or closest to the ground, to the highest in order to be able to fit them around the branches of the shrub. It is a very crowded shrub from the point of view of the leaves! Even with that in mind, the leaves are only growing on the uppermost parts of the branches, because they would not get enough light in the lowest parts of the shrub. If you have ever climbed into a large tree or shrub you will notice that the leaves are only on the very outer edges or ends of the branches, leaving the inner area open and yet sheltered at the same time. And because the "removable garden pods" that hold each of these Lilac shrubs are all unbalanced when not in the Garden, I needed to construct a "stand" to hold the shrub while under construction so that it would not tip over as I was working on it.

I simply pounded a nail through a spare piece of plywood... 

large enough to add stability but not too large for the work space...

The "pod" fits over the nail and is easily removable

 for any quick maneuvering of branches or glue or paint.

And then it was time to begin to attach all those leafy stems.... 

but not before they were carefully "shaped" 

the way they would be on a real bush.

When the lilac leaves grow, they are reaching for the sun,

 so their stems all point upwards,

 and the leaves themselves have a fold along the center,

 and open out like little parasols to catch the most sun.

Here you can see a stem with all the leaves folded.

 

 

And here the stems are pointed upwards...

And then you open out the folded leaves, 

with the stem still pointing up but the leaf pointing down...

Like this!

And you must do this for every stem!

And then wrap the stem around one of the branches and add glue.

And you need to let the glue dry on each attached leafy stem

 before you add another one... to prevent dislodging the first one. 

You can shape the leaves on the next stem while the first one is gluing....

Yes, this will take a while!

And before you have added too many stems, Dear Readers, 

you must remember to paint over the wire

 where it wraps around the branch... 

with the gray of the lilac bark

so it looks like the branch, 

not the new leafy green stem!

Here you can see I have attached about a dozen leafy stems....

I have tried to begin with the branches in the center of the shrub

 that would be the most difficult to reach... 

and to work outward from there...

So far I have added two leafy stems each

 to many of the shorter branches.

The longer branches will need more leafy stems each.

And we have to test it in place in The Folly Garden... 

to be sure we are leaving enough clearance under the roof eaves......

Those leafy branches do get crowded under there!

(I am sure you can see the nest!)

There will be more leafy branches added on the taller stems... 

and of course, the blossoms too....

And the branches in the front of the shrub will get filled in too.....

It might be slow going Dear Readers,

 but the Spring Lilac Shrub

 is getting it's Leaves at Last!