DIY Cheery Flower Yard Decor To Brighten Up Your Outdoor Space For Summer

It's incredible how real artificial flowers look these days. It's probably not surprising, given how long we've been making them. In fact, artificial flowers date back to the Victorian era, when they were made to adorn hats and clothing. Now, you can pick up plastic, silk, and paper flowers almost everywhere, from the finest florists and craft suppliers to big-box stores like Walmart. And that makes this full-bodied botanical DIY project super easy to construct. You'll snip faux blooms from their stalks and push their stems into a styrofoam ball, creating a floaty, dandelion puff-like piece of floral decor you can hang from a branch or rafter using discreet fishing line.

Spring has sprung, but the bees and birds aren't visiting your pollinator garden. Attract them to the bona fide flowers by hanging a few of these DIYs right nearby. For example, a puff covered in red-colored blossoms may attract hummingbirds. Just make sure they can hop quickly to real, nectary-filled blooms so they don't get discouraged. If late autumn has arrived and taken all those pretty spring and summer flowers with it, hanging a few of these rotund, rainbow-hued bouquets around your back patio will revitalize your backyard. This DIY is also a super simple project if you want to create a stunning centerpiece for any occasion outdoors — hang the petaled puffs over an outdoor dining table or bar to elevate your next baby shower, engagement party, or backyard cookout.

Plastic flowers are the best option for outdoor use since the material is naturally waterproof and durable. We love these artificial daisies from Walmart — you can buy eight bundles for under $18. That's a lot of flower balls! They come in five colorways (fuschia, orange-red, purple, white, and yellow) and are UV-resistant. If you're planning to hang the balls somewhere outdoors yet sheltered from weather extremes, are making them for a special occasion, or are okay with taking them down whenever you come inside, invest in fancier fake flowers. Go romantic with silk peony flowers in pink and cream — one bundle is about $9 from Hobby Lobby. (They also come in a bunch of other pretty hues.)

Could you use fresh blooms? Unless you can find flowers with extremely sturdy stems, it would be difficult to use fresh flowers. Plus, the bouquet wouldn't last very long, and the styrofoam ball inside isn't reusable once poked through with holes. You could, however, use dried flowers — the stems are sturdy and the blooms are arguably as long-lasting as plastic in the right conditions. You might have to pre-poke holes with a bamboo skewer and use glue (more on this later). This would be a great idea for anyone looking to reduce the amount of plastic used in this project. You can buy the blooms, or learn how to dry and style your favorite flowers from your garden and save money!

The Craft Place has 5-inch styrofoam balls in white or moss green for $3.68 each. You'll hang your creation using monofilament fishing line: pick up a roll for well under $10 from Walmart. Alternatively, use any string you have on hand, but the resulting ball won't look as ethereal. If you prefer to hang the ball using a hook, a pack of silver eye hooks in assorted sizes costs about $9 on Amazon. You'll also need sharp scissors to cut both the flower stems and the filmant line and a hot glue gun (optional).

Cut the flower stems to about 1 to 2 inches long. Push as many flowers as you need to into the styrofoam ball until it's completely covered. Making sure you can't see any of the ball from any angle is one of the game-changing tricks that make artificial flowers look so real. Use your glue gun to make the display more permanent, if you wish. Create a hole using a bamboo skewer, add glue to the end of a flower stem, and push it into the hole you just created. Use the same method to affix the hook to the ball, if you're using one. Let the glue dry — about 12 hours. Tie the fishing line around the ball as you would a gift ribbon, using the leftover length of line to hang your floral creation. Alternatively, tie the line to the hook.