Making Hypertufa Garden Art

Hypertufa, a lightweight man made material similar to stone, was created as a substitute for the natural rock called Tufa. It is used to make a myriad of garden art objects. Anyone can make hypertufa, it’s really not that difficult. Hopefully, this article will be of some help.

The materials needed to make hypertufa include Portland Cement, peat moss, sand or gravel, perlite, vermiculite and others. There are a lot of different recipes and combinations of the ingredients you can use. The most basic hypertufa mixture will contain Portland cement, peat moss, sand or perlite, and of course water.

What is hypertufa good for? It has a myriad of uses, you are limited only by your imagination. It’s perfect for plant containers, stepping stones, sculptures, fake rocks and all sorts of garden ornaments. It’s really amazing what you can make with it.

Making hypertufa is not much different than a child making mud pies. It’s equally fun. You need a mixture and a mold. For molds you can use all kinds of items you can find around the house. Tupperware, pans, pots, various containters, cardboard boxes, wastebaskets, even halloween masks can come in handy.

The process is simple. You apply the mixture to the outside of the mold, cover it with a garbage bag and seal tightly. If you’re making planters, don’t forget to add drainage holes. Put it under the sun for about 3-5 days, then carefully remove from the mold. Cover it up again with plastic bag and allow it to cure for about a month. That’s it.

A word of advice – start simple. Mixing and building hypertufa is a like mixing and baking a cake. You don’t start with a complicated cake recipe, you start easy and work your way up.

If you want to enhance your garden’s look and beautify its appearance, hypertufa is a way to go. It’s fun, affordable and easy way to create your own garden art.

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Posted on July 28th, 2009 by Jessie Walters and filed under gardening | No Comments »
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