I start with small colored glass 'peas' which then get encased in a clear glass shell. The light for the pod will come from a single green LED located at the base of the pod. The trick here is to get as much light into the pod as possible, and to increase optical efficiency I mold a cavity into the glass that fits over the lens of the LED. Light from the LED enters the glass and propagates along the length of the pod (its called 'total internal reflection').
White Pea flowers will be similar, with a white LED illuminating the petals. Pods and flowers attach to the plants by means of a small set screw, which allows removal or replacement of these glass components.
The body and leaf elements are copper which has an applied patina to make the metal green. This patina is waxed for protection, and will continue to develop with time.
Each LED and solar cell requires two wires, and with a relatively large number of individual pods, flowers, and cells, the number of wires per stem can be significant, requiring special techniques to feed these wires through the copper stems.
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