Bushes, Fencing, Ground Cover, Paths & Walkways

Landscaping is the decorating part my kids look forward to the most. We always leave plenty of room for landscaping items.


Bushes
When tinted green, with a variety of cereal added for shape, and optionally coated with Corn Syrup for a glossy look, you can have edible, uniquely shaped bushes and trees.

  • 4 cups of mini marshmallows or a 10 oz. package of regular marshmallows
  • 5 - 6 cups cereal (I use a mixture of corn flakes and whatever is left in the bottom of the box in the back of the cupboard....good way of using old cereal)
  • 1/2 stick (or 1/4 cup) butter or margarine

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Add dark green food coloring. Cook over low heat for about 3 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add your choice of cereal. Stir until well coated. Let cool for a minute or so (but not too long or it will harden in the pan).

WITH YOUR HANDS COATED WITH BUTTER or MARGARINE (so the mix won't stick to hands), scoop out the amount you want and form into bush or tree. You have to work fast. It also helps to place bushes on a glob of frosting so they will stick to the "yard".

Ice-Cream Cone Tree
To make an ice-cream cone tree, pipe frosting onto an inverted sugar cone, starting at the bottom edge. Make one row around the bottom edge, continuing up the cone to the top. Sprinkle green crystals onto the wet icing. Leave the top of the tree unfrosted so you have something to hold onto. Put the tree in place and then frost the top of the tree.

Fencing
Fencing is a wonderful way to define your Gingerbread house. Fencing can be as simple as candy-cane hooks or marshmallows, or as elaborate as mini-lights wrapped with rice-krispie treats, topped with a lifesaver that surrounds the mini-light bulb.


Edible Re-bar for Fencing
Edible Re-Bar! This is the coolest thing. Take a full bag of frosting with a #5 round tip. Take a long stick of spaghetti and stick it through the tip, as far as you can into the bag of frosting. Pull the spaghetti right back out (which is now coated with frosting) and lay on wax paper to dry. You can cut this (or break it) into desired lengths. The spaghetti acts as re-bar providing reinforcement. This is a great idea for fences. Color the frosting black/gray for the look of wrought-iron

Fencing ideas

  • Candy cane
  • Small pretzels
  • Large marshmallows
  • Large gum drops
  • Chocolate kisses
  • Candy rocks with frosting (as a rock wall)

Ground Cover
Before adding trees, bushes or fences, sprinkle your gingerbread base with some kind of ground cover. I prefer to spread frosting all over my base and while still wet, sprinkle with coconut and white sprinkles. When I am finished with the entire Gingerbread house project, I sprinkle everything with a fresh coat of sifted powdered sugar, which looks like a dusting of fresh fallen snow.

For green coconut, place coconut in a plastic bag along with a few drops of liquid greed food coloring. Shake the bag until the coconut is colored as desired.

Paths and Walkways
An easy way to create a path or walkway is to spread a good amount of frosting in the shape of your path or walkway. Now press the candy into the frosting. The frosting will fill-in around the edges, forming a mortar between the candy.

  • Broken Necco's
  • Oyster crackers
  • Stick gum
  • Toffee Bits
  • Candy Corn
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Vanilla Chips
  • Butterscotch Chips
  • Crackers
  • Red Hots candy
  • Hot Tamale or Mike & Ike candy
  • Good N Plenty candy
  • Gravel / Coal gum