I'll be doing a lot of containers this summer and I'm looking for ways to elevate some of the pots so they're not all sitting on the ground. I have a couple of plant stands that I'll use, but I need more. I'm not looking for verticle garden stands, but more like columns, plant stands, etc. Any suggestions for online vendors of reasonably priced plant stands or stores in the Fort Worth/Mid-Cities area would be appreciated. Also, any suggestions of other ways to create varying heights to add visual interest and to accommodate trailing plants would be appreciated. Come on all you creative container gardeners, bring on the ideas!
Thanks.
Sarah
Suggestions to achieve varying heights in the container gard
PVC pipe, painted of course. Cinder blocks, chunks of wood, bricks, cut up sections of pallets. Upside down pot can make great pot stands.
And of course all of this can be painted or decorated anyway you like.
Thanks, duchess. That will get me off to a good start.
You can also get different heights of pots--I've seen some tall skinny ones, and if you combine variation in pot height with varying the height of the plants in them you can get quite a range of heights. And some of the tall skinny ones would be nice for your trailing plants too, they'd have quite a way to cascade down before you have to worry about them hitting the ground.
Thanks ecrane3. Those are good suggestions also. There's a nursery here that usually has a sale on pots in March. I'll check out tall pots then.
Sarah
Tree stumps make nice ones.
If you have a Hobby Lobby nearby, they have gardening pots/decor 50% off every other week. They have some really cool things.
Thanks, jlp. I wouldn't have thought to look there. There is one nearby so I'll check them out. Thanks.
Welcome. You could also get square pavers and stack them either neatly or not. Then put the same size containers on the pavers stacked at different heights. I am doing that this year and it looks good. I got some dark brown and tan pavers and bronze pots.
jpl, can you post a picture? I'd love to see how the colors look together.
Thanks. Sarah
I don't have my camera software installed on my computer, but I can take a picture with my phone tomorrow and post it. I really like that pavers, since you can do so many different things with them.
That sounds lovely jlp.
It is really hard to tell in this photo but the sedums are in clay pots that are sitting in PVC pipes and both the clay pots and pipes are painted the same color. The pipes were cut to different heights.
How about clay chimney liners?
http://www.superiorclay.com/flue-liners.php
For something more decorative:
http://claychimneypots.com/
This message was edited Mar 20, 2009 11:17 PM
Ohhhhhh I love clay chimney liners! Years ago my sis had a bunch of different cactus and succulents in them. GREAT LOOK!
My partner just started building "prototypes" of various sized pedestals out of scrap 4"x4". Later today I'll try to go take a photo. Due to our Cedar trees we do a LOT of container gardening. I had made the comment I'd like to "level up" in a few places and he surprised me by puttering on some column type things from scrap wood.
Also...if we have to cut down anything... the stump stays. Just one more place for a bird house OR pot...lol
Here's one example. Every thing blooming in this photo is in a pot......but the bird house is on a short stump from a shrub we had to cut down. It blocked the view from the driveway when backing out. So.....I saved the stump. Just another opportunity to change the height of something.
This message was edited Mar 22, 2009 6:57 AM
This is a very old photo from my files. I have even turned over barrel halves and put pots on them in a pinch. HOWEVER...you better do some bug control under the inverted barrel half or it's a nice damp dark party atmosphere under there for slugs, sow bugs, earwigs and other little unwelcome plant chewing cooties!
This message was edited Mar 22, 2009 6:52 AM
I love those chimney liners and would like to use one for a fountain but they are $$$.
Oh dang... I haven't priced them. We have been thinking of getting 3 different heights and roping them together with old rope. It would be sort of a terracotta "pier" look...lol
I think my sis's husband got hers that were cast offs from a building site.
I priced them yesterday and was disappointed by how expensive they were. I'll keep looking.
Oh...make sure you ck your local Craigslist and Freecycle! I'll do that myself....
poof*
check for damaged chimney liners, it won't matter to you but the price should be better since they can't be used in a chimney.
I know that this is probably not going to completely fly, but milk crates, or the faux milk crates you can get for a couple of bucks at Target or the Dollar stores. Not only can they stack and make for nice towers, so that you can elevate your plants, they also can allow vines to grow on them, and, since they are trellis-y in nature, they allow for excellent drainage.
Hastur, that's a great idea. Thanks.
Then there is your always handy 5 gallon pickle bucket turned upside down. They paint up real nice if you make sure to clean them really good first. I saw one where they used a terra cotta colored paint and sort of smeared it on, it looked like the expensive pots. I get mine at the local high school for free.
The flue liners weigh a ton.
I had three different heights for a tiered planter effect.
Just filled them and planted them.
The chimny pots must be expensive they dont list prices.
Probably the company doesnt want gardeners as customers, just builders who order in lots of 20.
The local dealer here is listed with an old phone number thats at least 8 years old.
I was bummed. The cathedral ones would make great markers for a garden path.I wonder when the company will get the idea there is a gardening market out there.
Seems like this article could be helpful for staging a container garden:
http://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/staging-container-plant-display.aspx