Garden Planters and Plant Pots

A large planter is the only element in a garden you can carry. It gives an area structure without anyone digging, and it can be moved again if the idea does not work. That is why it belongs at the beginning of a garden scheme, not at the end.

What a large planter does

Beds are permanent. A planter is not. It marks an entrance, divides a terrace, closes a sight line or hides something nobody should see, and if it stands in the wrong place it gets moved. For rented gardens, roof terraces and courtyards without open ground it is the only way to plant anything substantial at all.

Then there is height. A planter lifts the plant to eye level and turns a box ball that would disappear in a bed into an object. Historic gardens have used that effect for centuries, and it works in front of a period facade as readily as against a flat roofed modern house.

The materials and how they differ

Cast stone and concrete carry the heavy, ornamented forms. The material is dense, frost resistant and heavy enough that a storm makes no difference. It darkens over the years and gathers moss in the recesses, which most customers only appreciate once it happens. For baroque and art nouveau it is the right material, because it holds edges and reliefs sharp.

Ceramic, glazed and coloured, brings gloss where stone would be too quiet. A tall glazed vessel against a dark wall works as a note of colour that no flower can replace.

Terracotta is the classic of the south, some of it Italian made. It breathes, a genuine advantage for citrus, oleander and herbs, and over the years it becomes mottled and paler, which is precisely its charm.

Teak belongs where stone would be too heavy and ceramic too smooth. It weathers to a silver grey if you let it and stays honey coloured if you oil it. Either is right, you only have to decide.

Size: almost everyone buys too small

The most common mistake is a planter that is too small. Outdoors everything reads smaller, because the sky provides no scale. A vessel that looks generous indoors disappears on a terrace.

Two guides help. Beside a front door the planter should reach about a third of the door height, and with planting comfortably half. On an open area the rule is simple: one large vessel beats three medium ones. Three medium ones look like an accident, one looks like a decision.

The range runs from vessels for a windowsill to planters ninety centimetres across and more, large enough for a mature citrus tree.

Pair, row, solitary

Three arrangements carry almost any situation.

The pair. Two identical planters left and right of an entrance, a flight of steps or a gate. Nothing reads as formal more quickly, and it forgives a plain facade.

The row. Three or more identical vessels at equal intervals along a terrace edge, a wall or a path. The rhythm creates the effect, so the spacing has to be right and the planters identical.

The solitary. One large vessel at the end of a sight line, on a lawn or in a niche cut into a hedge, ideally raised on a plinth. This is where the best piece belongs, because it carries the whole view.

Drainage, compost, stability

What makes a planter fail is rarely the vessel and almost always the water. Waterlogging kills more plants than frost. So a layer of coarse material belongs at the bottom, a fleece above it so the compost does not clog the drainage, and the planter itself should not sit flush on the ground but on feet or blocks, so water can run away.

For the compost, use a good container mix with a mineral content. Cheap potting compost collapses after one season and then either holds no water at all or far too much.

On stability: a tall, narrow planter with a large shrub catches wind. On an exposed terrace choose a wider vessel or weight the base with gravel beneath the drainage. Heavy stone planters do not have this problem, but be sure where they are going before you fill them.

Planting that suits the vessel

An ornamented stone planter needs no colourful abundance, it is the motif itself. A box ball, a topiary, a small olive tree or simply ivy spilling over the rim is enough and leaves the relief visible.

With glazed ceramic it is the other way round: the vessel carries the colour, so the planting may be calm, grasses for instance or a single perennial. Terracotta wants the Mediterranean, citrus, bay, rosemary. And teak takes almost anything, because it holds itself back.

If you want it to look right all year, there is no way around evergreens. They look the same in February as in July, and that is the whole point of a planter conceived as architecture.

Winter

The cast stone and concrete vessels are frost resistant and stay outdoors. What is at risk is not the material but the root ball: in a planter the compost freezes from every side, in a bed only from above. So in autumn move the planter away from the wall, raise it on feet, and wrap sensitive plants in fleece or coir matting.

Glazed ceramic and terracotta are more delicate. Both draw water into the wall, and what freezes there breaks. To be safe, empty them and store them dry under cover, or at least tilt them so no water can stand.

The planter as a stage

A vessel on a plinth is a different thing from a vessel on the ground. The height turns it into sculpture and holds the eye. Suitable bases are under columns and pedestals, and garden sculptures work as a counterpart on the other side of the axis.

For hotels, restaurants and contract projects the same applies at a larger scale: planters structure outdoor dining, guide guests towards the entrance and screen tables from one another without anything being built. And they can be rearranged when the seating changes.

The range

More than two hundred vessels are available, from the small terracotta bowl to the monumental stone planter: flower pots and planters. To think about the setting at the same time, look at fountains and water columns, rose arches, garden and terrace lights and luxury garden furniture.

See them at the Castello in Essen

With vessels in particular it is worth seeing them in person, because size and surface are hard to judge from photographs. Our showroom holds furniture and garden pieces from the current range across around a thousand square metres, in a listed building from 1870.

Castello Casa Padrino, Hammer Str. 64, 45239 Essen, Germany. Monday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm, Saturday 10 am to 2 pm. Call ahead if you want to see a particular piece: +49 212 14912917.

Questions we are often asked

Are the planters frost proof?
The cast stone and concrete vessels stay outdoors all year. Glazed ceramic and terracotta are more sensitive, because they draw water into the wall; they overwinter better empty and under cover.

Do the planters have a drainage hole?
That varies by model and is stated in the item description. Where there is none, a generous drainage layer helps, and the planter should stand on feet so water can escape.

How heavy are the stone planters?
Considerably heavier than they look, large models weigh several hundred kilograms. The exact weight is given in the dimensions of each item. The advantage: storms and theft are not a concern.

How large should a planter beside the front door be?
As a guide about a third of the door height, and with planting comfortably half. Buying too small happens far more often than buying too large.

What compost should go in?
A good container mix with a mineral content, not simple potting compost. That collapses after a season and then holds either too much water or too little.

What suits an ornamented stone planter?
Very little. A box ball, a topiary, a small olive tree or trailing ivy. The vessel is the motif, and a colourful abundance would cover the relief.

Are the planters available in other colours?
For many models, yes. This matters above all for contract projects where several vessels have to match. Please contact customer service.

How are they delivered?
Small vessels travel by parcel service, large stone planters by forwarding agent to the kerbside. With very heavy pieces, settle in advance how they will reach their position on the property.