Here are five of the many bits I cut from my Spirea bush last year which I think will make excellent trees once the foliage etc has been added - great for winter ones as is though.    These particular ones are "N" scale 50/60 feet height but as you can see from the second picture "OO" scale ones are there a plenty too - all you have to do is wait until Autumn when the flowers have gone and cut them off when the bush is dry.    I'll be experimenting with the foliage next and will update you in due course.






Ken.

I've tried bits of twiggy stuff from the garden, without much luck, how do you stop it drying out, going crispy and breaking up at the slightest touch?

They do look very winter tree-ish already though.

Doug

have had the same problem with garden stuff myself.
soon gets very brittle.

:cool:

If memory serves me right, in the days of "425 lines", they used to dip that kind of stuff in "water glass" to toughen it up.  It (water glass) was used during the war to preserve the precious egg ration.  It arrests deterioration in that case but is also used as a form of adhesive.

In my younger days ( just a couple of years ago) I remember this Glycrine type product being used - extract from Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerol
Glycerol is a component of glycerol soap, which is made from denatured alcohol, glycerol, sodium castorate (from castor), sodium cocoate, sodium tallowate, sucrose, and water. Sometimes one adds sodium laureth sulfate, or essential oils for fragrance. This kind of soap is used by people with sensitive, easily-irritated skin because it prevents skin dryness with its moisturizing properties. It draws moisture up through skin layers and slows or prevents excessive drying and evaporation. It is possible to make glycerol soap at home.

[*]Glycerine is used as an anti-drying agent in watercolor paints. [/*]
[*]Glycerine is used as a preservative to keep tobacco mixture moist. [/*]

In actual fact, you can pick anything from the garden whilst still alive and stand it in a glass of pure glycerine and it will preserve it ad infinitum.

As for the dead Spyrea, that can also be stood in the same stuff and the twigs will suck some up by capilary action. When dry, it's then best to spray the heads with a matt varnish to ensure that the end bits remain intact.

Blimey! Chapter and verse in an instant…..I'll now start looking at the garden waste in a new light, thanks chaps.

Enlightened Doofer

Hi

Another alternative is to go to the other end of a plant and use the roots.  Some plants have very fibrous, branching roots that look just like miniature trees.  The main root can look quite twisted too - bit like Hawthorn trunk.  The beauty of having so many branching roots is that some can be removed and a large piece of root shaped until it looks like a tree - ready to have pieces of sea moss attached. 

The obvious problem is that you wouldn't want to dig up a plant!  However, I have found suitable pieces of root on walks in the Pennines - particularly where old rhodedendrons have been cut back.  A big advantage with root material is that it is very tough (wiry) and less brittle than branches.  Heather has similar properties.

Check out this link …..

http://www.009.cd2.com/members/how_to/trees_hedges.htm

 

 

 

 

 

Forget all that green foliage stuff Ken and keep them as winter trees, they look really good like they are, follow MikeC  and model a winter scene