Why Planters Should Top Every Gardener's Wish List

Want to know the quickest and easiest way to a post-winter garden update? Look no further than garden planters.

If you are a seasoned gardener, this will come as no surprise, but if you’re new to gardening, we’re going to let you in on a secret - planters are your garden’s best friend. Planters - from small garden pots and terracotta troughs to vintage stone urns - can be used to instantly update gardens, add height and interest, fill gaps in borders, define areas, and ‘frame’ points of interest, as well as just look pretty.

Pretty and practical 

Incredibly versatile in making your garden look good, troughs, garden pots and urns offer scope for planting that may not be possible in your regular garden soil. Smaller planters - we’re not suggesting the reconstituted stone troughs here - can also be moved, to catch more sunshine, or brought indoors or placed in a greenhouse to avoid late frosts. 

Instant garden update

Think about any area in your garden that looks a bit uninspiring and make that your starting point. Is there a feature, such as an entrance, doorway, path or pergola, you’d like to draw attention to? Consider framing it with our Large Terracotta Planters placed either side. The curvaceous egg shape draws the eye and the soft, natural pink-hued finish is the perfect complement to flowers or foliage. Fill with trailing geraniums for a softer look or draw the eye upwards with an Acer for impact, or pretty fuchsia tree or dwarf lilac for colour.

How to add impact

Our Reconstituted Stone Garden Planter is one of those pieces that adds impact anywhere. With a beautifully weathered patina, it is decorated with a grape and leaf design, evoking a sense of the Mediterranean. Position it to break up an expanse of lawn or planting, or create a wonderful focal point on a patio or pergola. One of our favourites, it has an air of decadence about it, and will continue to age and weather beautifully.

Made from steel, our Galvanized Trough is a versatile fellow with a slightly industrial edge. Ideal for a balcony, terrace or patio, it’s also perfect as part of a kitchen garden for veg or herbs. To create a naturalistic focal point, plant up with Echinacea, phlox asters, Rudbeckia and salvia for a modern prairie-style look.

Develop a sense of drama

If you want to make a real statement, our Large Rectangular Planter is supported on six claw feet and has a beautiful aged patina. It wouldn’t look out of place amongst the botanical beauty of Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech, rediscovered and restored in the 1980s by fashion designers, Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé; it has that same sense of grandeur about it. With plenty of planting depth and two drainage holes, it’s practical too. Place it where it can be seen, sit back and enjoy the view. 

Small is beautiful

Trough planters are particularly useful for growing small plants that may look a bit lost in other containers, so if you love succulents and alpines, our small Terracotta Trough Planters are a gorgeous way to create a display. Good to use where there isn’t a lot of room for planting, we have a couple of lovely oval planters that are perfect for kitchen herbs. 

Try your hand at potscaping

Our authentic Italian Vine Pots are beautiful to look at with their raised grape and leaf pattern, and are perfect for potscaping, where you create a garden out of an arrangement of pots rather than conventional flowerbeds. Simply group several filled pots together in areas you can’t plant in, which adds a welcome boost to neglected spots. Team with our gorgeous dusky pink Ribbed Terracotta Planters and fill with trailing geraniums or foliage. And when you are eating al fresco, you can use one of your ready-filled pots for pretty table decoration. 

Turn to an urn

For a grander table decoration, look to our Marble Urns. Perfect for planting, they look stunning as a centerpiece, and are equally at home on a hallway console or conservatory corner. Our ever-changing collection of urns is one way to add an individual touch to outdoor spaces. Drape with fairy or solar lights for added atmosphere. 

Stone and terracotta planters are easy ways to add texture to gardens too, creating a wonderful contrast against soft foliage and strong colours. Regardless of the material, size or shape of garden pot or planter you prefer, they are an ideal way to bring life to gardens - instantly.