Make Sparkly Glittery Pampas Grass

It’s the holidays and you know that means it’s time to glitter everything again! Pampas grass has started to be really on trend in the last few years for many different decor styles. It can be fun in a boho living room, feel serene in a more modern natural decor setting, or add height and interest to desert decor. It grows through out most of the United States and it has such pretty plumes . As an interior designer I’ve used them to add texture to clients homes and bring in a neutral accent. I wanted to share with you my version of how to make sparkly glittery pampas grass to use in holiday decorating.  I had this on my faux mantel last year in my living room and I loved the look. This is definitely the kind of thing you want to keep away from heat and flame though! There is a video below showing you the quick  glittering technique.

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To give your pampas grass a wintery feel, You’ll need spray snow, spray glitter, and spray glitter sealer

Buy the The Supplies here

Last year in late summer, I foraged my area and gathered pampas grass heads to use in decorating. They took about 3 weeks to totally dry out before I glittered them.

When I glittered my pampas grass, I did it outside in a well-ventilated area wearing eye protection. I am paranoid about getting glitter in my eyes. Because of the spray glitter, you might almost want to wear a mask. It worked well to have it propped up on a cardboard box so that I was able to spray some of the areas including the tips of the pampas grass and turn them over to spray the other side. You can  also spray paint  them fun colors by putting the stems in a box, like I painted these dried flowers.

Let your pampas grass plant dry out completely before spray painting and glittering so it doesn’t grow mold with extra moisture.

Cover it with the spray glitter, turning it over ( If you don’t have spray glitter, you can also use spray adhesive.).  After spraying with spray glitter, coat with spray snow turning  the pampas grass over to cover every side. To give it a more wintery feel, completely spray paint it with white paint first before using any  glitter.

One the glitter is sprinkled, coat with another layer of spray glitter. If it seems like its shedding a lot, you can also try spraying it with a clear coat. Most of the time, the spray adhesive and glitter helps to keep all of their little plumes together on the stem.

Tip: When decorating with pampas grass and leaving it natural, spray it with hair spray or glitter sealer to help keep it from shedding.

 

I also have glitter sealer linked in my supply list. Once it dries, you can have fun decorating with it! I styled these on a mantel, and they have such  pretty, natural holiday decor. There long stems are perfect styled a  tall vase,  or clustered together in a grouping like this pampas grass chandelier. I chose to leave my leaves on for a more natural look, but you can strip them of  and just leave the dried stem and plume for a cleaner look.

I was curious to find out how hardy pampas grass really was and if they were invasive plants or not. It grows all over the place here in full sun in low-lying watery areas and ditches.

Does Pampas grass grow in the Midwest?

I found out it does okay in cooler growing zone as an annual, but isn’t as  hardy to make it through the hard winters here. We don’t have the tall variety with crisp, white plumes, but  ours are a more wheat colored blooms. Our pampas grass plants reaches about 5-6 feet tall instead of the 7-10 feet of other varieties. Hardy pampas grass are considered perennials in our climate. My neighbor was able to get it to some back a few years in a row, and then one year it just didn’t come back. The pampas grass we have in the Midwest is a smaller version of the towering  foliage in much more southern states.  I have tried growing pampas grass here because I’ve seen it where it’s so tall and cool people grow it as a fence or divider for privacy. It’s one of the prettiest ornamental grasses there is, and while it’s not always one of the native plants to it’s state, it grows well in planting zones 5-9 ( There are some states where it is considered invasive.). I really wish the white plume variety grew better here. There is also a pink plume variety that is simply gorgeous as well!