LOL!!! Amen to that!! =)
What Sorts of Pots Do You Prefer?
Hehehehe!!!
Hey Speedie,
Maybe you would want to go to Deborah Silver's Dirt Simple Blog. She owns the Detroit Garden Works, which appears to be a high-end garden center. She has pictures of her store, inside and out, and talks about a bit about the products sometimes. If you click on the Detroit Garden Works tag at the bottom of the blog post, it will show all pictures related to her store. I just thought you might find it as inspiration for your new adventure.
http://www.deborahsilver.com/blog/
http://www.deborahsilver.com/blog/category/detroit-garden-works/
What a great site Karen, I got lost there for a couple of hours and only looked at the first 8 pages. I just love all the containers and the espaliers are great. I have 3 semi-dwarf Asian pears in the garden that I just haven't gotten to. May be this spring.
Love her posts and her planters. Very skilled with plant combinations!
She uses Pinterest too: http://www.pinterest.com/deborahsilver/
Typwc, that is another great link. Nice. There are so many great blogs and pinterest boards out there, I find myself getting lost for hours.
WOW Karen, GREAT site link, thank you! Made the mistake of opening it now to peek around - OH DEAR! I don't have time now, gotta get ready for work, LOL. Will definitely do it justice later when I get home from work. THANK YOU!! =)
I could get lost in that for hours.
I know. I never thought of Detroit as a destination until I started following her blog. Now I want to go there just so that I can visit this store! Glad you guys liked the blog as much as me!
BTW, I keep up with all these blogs using an RSS reader. Lots of great free ones are out there: Bloglovin, Feedly, AOL Reader. I prefer Theoldreader because it's very similar to the program Google used to have. It's part of my daily waking-up routine. I scroll through the blogs rhat I chose to follow, pin the pics I like, go on about my day. :) It helps to take the blogs in little doses so that I don't (often) get lost in them for hours and hours... I think many of the blogs that I follow also have newsletters that you can sign up for to get emails when they update the blog, but I find a RSS reader to be much more streamlined.
Typ, I started using digg reader when google discontinued their rss reader.
I don't watch the news so that's how I get my daily news feed. I've been following that Detroit blog for awhile now. Amazing what they do with such a short growing season.
SSG, I may have to look into Digg. Thanks!
Sally, I'd never heard of McCoy pots before you mentioned it here, but I just came across this post: http://gatsbysgardens.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-real-mccoy.html#links
Great pictures!
thanks, ssg--I know next to nothing about McCoy pots but I like them.
There's another potential time sucker- looking at ebay, all the fascinating stuff!
Oh my, Ssg, those are really pretty! Sally, is it the soft gentle shade of green (of the McCoy pots) that you like so much? The designs of those vases are gorgeous; enough to make them eye-popping without it being "in-your-face" too much - very elegant, and the colour is so gentle and soothing.
Speaking of pots, how (much) do you guys like terra cotta? The "real" stuff, not plastic-that-looks-terra. If you walked into a store and saw 2 BIG displays FULL of all sorts/styles/sizes of terra pots and planters, with saucers, would you stop to goggle a second - and then feel compelled to just "need" to get "just one little something"?
I think terra cotta pots are good for certain plants--like succulents, Cacti, CC's,
and other plants that would suffer when over-watered.
Terra Cotta saucers are useless (at least in the house) as they would leave
water rings on tables and floors...
A solution to that is to put a plastic lid of some sort under it..like a Cool Whip
lid..inconspicuous--but it will protect the surface. It should fit the bottom of the
saucer perfectly.
Another negative on these pots is the mineral deposits that seep through
and discolor the pots.
G.
I love terracotta pots especially the squat Azalea pots. I always get trays to go under them and put a cork disk under the ones that sit on furniture.
I like Azalea shape also. THe standard shape can be found in many craft stores up to 6 to maybe 8 or ten inches.
Terra cotta is OK on its own but nursery plastic needs a cover.
I like those Azalea pots as well, and I've always loved terra cotta. Maybe I'm odd, but I especially like the "discolouration" that happens with age... then again, I like it when my hardwood mulch fades to that silvery colour too! =)
The displays we got include some 6, 8, and 10-inch pots, as well as larger, including the Azalea ones and 'window boxes' too, with trays. I think it's sorta funny, honestly; if the box is outside the window, why would you need a tray? Can't ya just let the water drip onto/into the ground? Oh well, I guess they're for those who don't attach them to the window, but maybe use them as "herb garden" planters instead. ??
Gita, you find the saucers leave water rings? But, aren't they supposed to prevent that? I thought that's what their purpose is. Please illuminate me so I don't steer my customers wrong!
Now that I'm thinking about it, I've gotten water rings on my furniture when using terra cotta saucers. I always thought it was because I was so clumsy with watering, but it may be that the saucers themselves are also very porous.
Very good idea to put cork or plastic lids under them!
edit: oops spelling!
This message was edited Mar 6, 2014 9:51 AM
Speedie--
SS already explained why clay saucers can leave rings....you can still have
"the look"--just put something (like a lid) under it.
As for WHY W-Boxes need a tray?
Many people live in the 2nd..or 3rd or even higher floors and have little balconies
where they "garden".
Now--if you lived on a floor below them--how would you like if the dirty water
from their W-Boxes dripped on your patio table on YOUR balcony as you were having
breakfast--or had company-- and water was dripping into your wine glass???
That is why you need a saucer.......DAH!...Girl...
G.
I get cork trivets from the kitchen section at IKEA, very cheap! I love terra cotta and I love the patina that they get with age. To me, every plant looks good in terra cotta. The color is so neutral and timeless. It's usually cheaper than glazed and I like that it is a natural material. For some reason, I think my plants do better in TC than other pots. Maybe the roots can breathe better?
I use the window box trays in the kitchen to serve bread and rolls.
HaahaahahaaaHAAHAHA Gita, I just LOVE YOU TO PIECES!!!!!!!! < =D You are soooo right, I hadn't thought about balcony gardening!!! Seeeee, this is why I have you guys, to help keep my little brain cell working! =)
Holly, that is a really neato idea, brilliant!!
Karen, I'm with you, I like the neutrality of the colour of TC; I want my plants to "Pop", not the pots.
I have some terra cotta saucers that are glazed on the inside, but most places don't carry them - hint hint Speediebean.
Heeheeheee, Ok, I can take a hint, I'll see what I can do. Can't guarantee it any time soon, seeing as we JUST did this huge TC order, but I won't forget, I promise!
You can "Glaze" your own with Mod Podge. it is available in all Craft Stores...
It is like super thick Elmers glue.
You can also use it to embed cut out pictures between layers.
I have done several clay pots doing this.
Just cut out napkins, wrapping paper, cards, anything...make your own deco pots..
G.