Palm Leaf Stepping Stones

[Really full garden]

This has been a long holiday weekend here in Guatemala and I finally started this stepping stone project.I used palm leaves to imprint cement that I poured in freeform shaped forms.I found that palmate leaved palms work best.I used Licuala grandis and Thrinax radiata leaves.It is important to vary the placement of the leaf and the shape of the form so that they do not turn out like cookies from a cookie cutter.Imperfections actually are a good thing! After a few disasters I finally ended up with what looks like palm fossils.I stained the cement light brown and used umber as accent and they really do look like fossils in sandstone.I am currently waiting on a batch of cycad leafed (cycas and zamia sp.) to dry.This has been a fairly inexpensive and rewarding project.

                                                                 Scott

[Caryota_gigas]

So how about a pic?

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Very cool idea Scott!  I was actually getting ready to make a path on the side of my Parent's home and needed something more original than the preformed sand dollar style stepping stones from Home Depot!  I think I may just pirate your idea!  How about a pic?

[Really full garden]

I wish I could post a picture but my Third world internet service makes it almost impossible.The most important factor is try not to make them too perfect and experiment with stains.I wasted about fifty pounds of cement.I got about nine 3inch thick stones from a 42KG bag of cement.I also used one leaf per stone.

                                                                                     Scott

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Sounds really cool, and I think I'm gonna give it a try!

[Tad]

this is how i did the sidewalks in my seed house, just be sure and allow plenty of time for them to dry before you try and remove them, let them dry up and shrink on their own.!

[Really full garden]

I poured the cement over the palm  leaf.The leaf was on the bottom.I also used PAM spray vegetable oil to help keep the leaf from sticking.

                                                                                    Scott

[Tad]

these were troweld in and later popped off on their own.

same thing tho let them pop on their own, do resist temptation to peel them up and see.

[SubTropicRay]

I see a project in my future.

[palmazon]

I saw quite a few of these on Kauai - I did some for a client incorporating seashells as well. Another variation on the upside-down casting method is to use painter's plastic/visqueen as a resist to line your forms - that way you get a lot of natural-looking wrinkles in the surface. Monstera, Alocasia, and other aroids are also good fossil subjects.

[Carlo Morici]

Scott, I had not thought of putting the leaf below. What is below the leaf, then? What happens to the cement between leafsegments (or in the holes of a monstera leaf ) if the leaf is placed below? How thick did you do them, did you use iron bars?

I remember some gorgeous ones with large breadfruit leaves in La Habana.

Carlo

[Really full garden]

Carlo, I made the forms from strips of sheet metal.They were about 5inches wide and 30inches long.I covered part of my patio with sheet plastic and the leaf was positioned,then the form was placed on top,then the cement was poured over the leaf to a depth of 1-2inches and then I placed a piece of 1x1 inch hardware cloth cut a little smaller than the diameter of the form,then about another inch was poured over the hardware cloth.The cement was not watery.It was thicker than cake batter,so there was minimal seepage under the form.I did not like the negative space left by pinnate leafed palms or phlilodendron leaves.I much prefer solid leaves for this project. I too want to try breadfruit leaves. I worked at Disneys Animal Kingdom when it was being built so got to see some incredible craftmen at work. The pathways and roads are true works of art that most people dont notice.  

                                             Scott

[RadPalms]

Great idea....I poured some stepping stones leading to my Deck last summer, using a pick I free formed shapes in the grass to a 3 inch depth and when I finished the concrete I poured stain on top and troweled it in.....I am going to pour more to the greenhouse....So I want to thank you for the idea....looks great

[palmmermaid]

Paul Humann has stepping stones like these in his garden.  I think I will try this for some of my areas.  I agree, it looks much better than the cookie cutter ones at the big box stores.

Kitty

[Really full garden]

Santa Claus gave me a camera for Xmas.Here are the stepping stones.The large one is a very large Licuala grandis leaf.The others are alocasias and smaller Licualas.

                                                                                         Scott

[Tad]

que bonito, I never thought of doing them like that, I was thinking square shapes.

[freakypalmguy]

Wow Scott, those are beauts. I bet you could make a few bucks doing those. I think I'll have to give it a try someday for around my house.

Matt

[Really full garden]

Matt, I think I only spent about $20 for the entire project - including the first failures.

                                                                                                                 Scott

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Finally got around to getting this project underway... Ended up doing this for a retail job. I think they are going to turn out pretty cool... I mixed white cement and sand at a 1:2 ratio to give these stones some added strength and also made my mix as dry as I could work with. I just picked up my stains last night... Gonna try to end up having them look like a mossy dark green finish. I ialso prefered using a palmate leaf, and chose washies in an effort to have some likeness with all the Licuala grandis I planted in this garden. I used 15 gallon pots as forms, they end up being about 16" stone with some size uniformity.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Hopefully it will warm up and I can spray some Round-up on the leaves to help them shrivel up quickly! I have a few left to finish removing from the molds.

[Kim]

Beautiful results! I even like them unstained, very cool looking. Is there as much relief in the leaf as it appears? I'd be afraid of marring the surface pattern by walking on them.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I think they may have more relief than the picture shows! and I like them unstained as well, but I'm afraid they might stick out like a sore thumb if they aren't toned down a bit. I am working on some samples and I will let the client decide. No matter what I think they will end up being a nice addition to the finished product.

[TikiRick]

I have never been a fan (no pun intended!) of stepping stones...but all of yours look great. I prefer a mulched "trail" with various rocks and drift wood throughout the garden.

However, you may want to think about these as art work for the wall or fence. Place a heavy wire bent into the shape of horse shoe into the backside of the mold....then you have something from which to hang it onto the fence or outdoor wall.

On another note, if you are pouring a slab and pressing the palm fronds into the wet concrete, throw a slight handful of baking soda onto the wet concrete. The baking soda repels the concrete so you end up with a pitted, coral rock looking slab rather than all flat. I watched the artisians at work when they pouring my "cool deck" around my pool once use this technique. Of course, the pockets also hold water...which promotes pockets of algea....which ages the concrete to look even older!

[palmmermaid]

Rick,

Great tip about the baking soda! I wondered how they got it to look pitted. I want to try some of these this year.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

You can also use rock salt Kitty, it makes for another type of porous relief

[Hollywood Palms]

Great idea. Thanks for the methodology and the pics.

David

[TikiRick]

On an further note, if you want to take it to another level, you can push pieces of lava rock, chunks of bamboo, twigs, or seeds into the wet concrete too.

I once tiled my entire backspash with a mosaic of cracked tile and mismatched silverware and bottle caps. It looked pretty cool....and was actually the selling feature of the entire house!