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How to Make Giant Garden Art Alliums

Published on August 9, 2017Last updated October 18, 2021 โ™› By Melissa J. Will

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This step-by-step tutorial shares how to make giant garden art alliumsโ€”a beautiful, repurposed, decorative flower project for your outdoor space.

You can also make giant coneflowers (Echinacea) garden art with this tutorial.

Homemade garden art allium flowers.
Allium garden art

Giant Allium Garden Art

Garden art allium flowers in the garden.

Ornamental Allium | Genus: Allium

Purple allium flowers in garden.

Herbaceous geophyte perennial with true bulbs
โ€ข Zones 3 to 9
โ€ข Full sun to part shade
โ€ข Same botanical genus as onions, leeks, garlic and more

  • Allium Growing Guide
  • Shop Online: Buy allium bulbs (US shipping)

Alliums are those giant, purple, globe-shaped flowers you notice in the spring when not much else is blooming yet. They are a member of the onion family and grow from bulbs. Bees love them as they have few nectar options so early in the growing season.

Real purple alliums in garden.
Purple alliums in the spring garden

I first thought of this garden art idea years ago when I saw packages of nails all bundled in rolls in the thrift shop. The long nails with their flat heads reminded me of the hundreds of little stems in the head of an allium as they go into bloom and also when they start turning to seed. Weird, I know.


Purple allium flowers with bee.

Related: How to Grow Alliums for Spring Flowers Bees Love


Allium flower turning to seed.
Alliums going to seed

After testing out a few options, softballs turned out to be the perfect core for the flowers. They are easy to drill and nails go in very nicely. Whatever that fluffy stuff is inside, it grabs the nails snugly and hold them in place.


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How to Make Garden Art Alliums

Homemade garden art allium flowers in the garden.
Purple allium garden art flowers in the garden

I painted my allium purple with a green stem. I really wanted a specific color of purple paint but the spray paint options at our local hardware store are really limited so I had to go with the only purple available. Hopefully you’ll be able to get the color you want.

If you love the look of dried seeds or rusty metal, you could also spray paint the whole thing in those sorts of colors.

Bottom line: your artโ€”your choice. Iโ€™ll probably update mine if I ever come across the perfect purple.


Watch the How-to Video


Supplies

As always, I suggest you find used items for projects like this so they are cheap or free and give old junk a new life.

Supplies for making garden art alliums: nails, softball, and metal rod.
Supplies for making allium garden art
  • (1) Softball (12′ circumference / 3.8′ diameter) Be certain itโ€™s a softball and not hard/baseball.
  • (120) 3-4โ€ Flat-head nails.
  • (1) 3-foot metal threaded rod– 1/8 diameter (could also use rebar but a slender stem looks best).
  • Spray paint (purple, green, or whatever colors you choose).
  • Cordless drill and 1/8โ€ (or smaller) drill bit.
  • Safety gloves, eye protection, clothes protection (the usual precautions).
  • Cardboard box (for spray painting).

Steps

1Spray Paint Rod

If you want to spray paint the metal rod, do this first.

2Drill Test Holes

Make a test hole in the softball with a 1/8โ€ or smaller drill bit.

Insert a nail and confirm that it fits snugly. Youโ€™ll push it into the softball about an inch. If you need a smaller drill bit, switch it out now.

Drilling holes in softball.
Drill holes for nails

3Drill Holes

Drill holes in softball, evenly spaced over the entire surface.

Always drill at a 90-degree angle into the ball.

4Insert Rod

Insert the painted metal rod. You may need to drill a slightly larger hole in the softball to accommodate it but donโ€™t overdo it because you want it to fit really snugly.

Once itโ€™s secure, donโ€™t remove it.

Inserting nails into softball.
Place nails in drilled holes

5Insert Nails

Insert nails into the holes, fixing them firmly in place.

Spray painting garden art alliums in cardboard box.
Use a box to enclose spray paint

6Spray Paint Flower Head

Spray paint the allium flower head.

First, cover the stem so it does not get sprayed. I use a big cardboard box for spray painting to minimize the amount of paint that gets in the air.

After the paint dries, youโ€™re done.

Display them in your garden for year-round allium beauty in a thrift shop-repurposed kind of way.

Ongoing Care

If your climate is like mine, you probably need to apply more spray paint each year to keep them fresh-looking.

Three purple garden art allium flowers in garden.
Allium garden art

Resources

Empress of Dirt

FREE TIP SHEET

DIY Garden Art Alliums

Includes the materials list and basic instructions from this article.

DIY garden art allium flowers.
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This project is included in this ebook:

Ebook

Garden Art Projects & Ideas book cover

25 Garden Art Projects & Ideas

by Melissa J. Will

Grab the top garden art DIY projects and tips from Empress of Dirt

About This Ebook | Visit Ebook Shop

This ebook is a digital file (PDF format) you save to your device. It is not a physical product.

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Happy allium-making!

If you love over-sized garden art, there are more giant garden dรฉcor ideas here.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt โ™›

Three purple garden art allium flowers in garden.
Print Instructions Pin It
4.75 from 8 votes

How to Mark Garden Art Alliums

Step-by-step instructins for making giant allium garden art flowers from thrift shop supplies.
Total Time1 hour hr
Author: Melissa J. Will
Cost: $20

Equipment

  • Cordless Drill
  • Safety Glasses

Supplies & Materials

  • 1 3-foot Rod metal, threaded, 1/8-inch diameter
  • 1 Softball 12" circumference / 3.8" diameter
  • 120 4-inch Flat-head Nails
  • 1 Spray Paint purple
  • 1 Spray Paint green
  • 1 Cardboard box for spray painting

Instructions

  • Spray paint metal rod green (optional).
    1 3-foot Rod, 1 Spray Paint
  • Using 1/8-inch drill bit, drill 120 holes in softball at 90-degree angle for inserting nails.
    Do a test hole first to be sure the hole is the right width to snugly fit a nail.
    1 Softball
  • Insert metal rod (allium stem).
  • Insert nails into holes, fixing them firmly in place.
    120 4-inch Flat-head Nails
  • Hold allium by rod in large cardboard box and spray paint purple.
    1 Spray Paint, 1 Cardboard box
  • Allow to dry thoroughly. Display in garden.

Notes

If you keep your garden art alliums outdoors all year-round, the paint may need refreshing once a year.ย 
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I’m Melissa J. Will a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt (Ontario, Canada).
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