Guest Picks: Planters That Might Make Me Want to Grow Something
I just learned something — furniture and industrial designer Paul McCobb is a Boston boy, born in Medford, Massachusetts. The crisp silhouette of this vintage '50s stoneware piece has an architectural feel and an interesting saffron color. I could totally see it outdoors, well into fall when it would blend with the foliage.
This funky fiberglass pink/coral-colored planter and chrome stand is a circa-1960 American piece that I can totally picture on the patio of an outdoor room in a surfer-style home in San Diego.
Vertical gardening is all the rage, and this wall planter hits on all the trends. It looks as though it’s been plucked from the pages of Dwell, with its rusted steel patina and minimalist lines. As for how to hang it (I must say I wondered), it floats half and inch off the wall, held by an aluminum cleat.
When did air plants hit the scene, exactly? These petite stoneware pots by Judy Jackson are handmade and glazed in her New York studio, and no two are alike. The colors are beautifully rich and moody. I want a trio for myself, please.
This prickly pear cement pot is made by Pratt Institute graduates, Chen Chen and Kai Williams, in their New York design studio. I love the juxtaposition of the organic shape and the industrial material.
The turquoise glaze and organic shape make these Neptune Cachepots a dreamy planter pick. I love the hand-drawn bubble designs on the larger pot, adding texture in relief, as well as the uneven, rippled rims. The delicate construction lends an elegant feel. They'd look equally beautiful in the city or country, kitchen or living room.
Plants haven't been as popular since the 1970s. (Is that macramé you're wearing?) Now you can carry a sprout around your neck, with these modern wearable planters. The geometric design is 3D printed in nylon, then finished by hand. Now you can pick a flower on your morning walk, and transport it back to home intact.
It's a polyhedron with soul. These little (just 5½ inches in diameter) planters are perfect for adding life to your workspace, and their earthy coloration won't distract. Created by Boston artisan Shannon Wallack, his line of ShanMan Clay Co. geo planters with neon accents were recently picked up by West Elm Fenway for its local craftsperson initiative. I love the marbled effect of these more natural pieces.
Eli Bonerz founded Pad Outdoor because he wanted colorful, modern indoor-outdoor planters to accessorize his Neutra home in the hip Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Each pot is hand spun from aluminum and then powder coated, making them durable enough to keep outside. Steel stands fitted with cork pads to protect the planter and floor surface are available too. Plus, each planter is made locally. Color us cool.
I’m all about cork these days — I’m actually putting cork flooring in a Florida condo and cannot wait to see it! So these cork-encased planters totally called out to me. The clean lines and natural materials would look very cool planted with a Gaudí-like cactus.
The thick, wavy glass of this narrow rectangular vessel is clearly hand blown, reminding me of Vermont-based glassblower Simon Pearce. While it would look elegant on a rectangular dining table with tulips, I also love the idea of adding moss for a terrarium-like effect.
I have a thing for birch trees. It’s a joke around my house that I ordered birch logs online for the fireplace — for a house in the woods. These natural vessels, which are foraged bark tubes, would look beautiful with lavender or pine tree twigs. Or you can slip one over a ceramic or glass bud vase if you want to use it with flowers that require water.
These neon- and pastel-dipped palm-sized pots are handmade and hand painted in the Los Angeles studio of Etsy sellers Bird and Feather Co. No, they're not ceramic; the mini pots are made from 100 percent natural plant pods. I can't decide which colors to order — they're all so adorable!
Judy Jackson takes on the canoe with these richly hued ceramic planters, which are perfect for multiple succulents. Nice and narrow, perch one on the kitchen windowsill or console that gets some light.
A stylist once showed me how she likes to layer vessels, putting a hammered silver pot inside a glass vase, for instance. The Boskke Cube reminds me of that. It’s a lesson in natural history, allowing you to view the root system. Plus, the planter’s clear body is also a water reservoir, supplying up to four weeks of moisture through the company’s Slo-Flo watering system. What a fresh, educational and convenient design.
The walnut Boxcar succulent planter is as sleek as a piece of contemporary furniture, with the faceted lines and color pops of today’s trendiest makers. It’s narrow enough for a windowsill or desk and would make a good gift for a friend — or yourself.
I need a handful of these whitewashed cement planters for my bluestone patio. The fun part is that it's actually a DIY botanical kit. Perfect for any industrial-chic hostess. It comes with three zebra cacti, four haworthia cacti, a small bag of gravel, potting soil, black sand, a finishing brush and the planter itself.
I need one (two, three, five) of these wall planters for Cape Cod — it’s the exact color of the exterior window frames. I could totally see these attached to the gray cedar slat siding on the patio. Powder coated spun aluminum, they’re ideal for any outdoor environment. And don’t worry, there are holes for drainage so your little plantlings won’t get waterlogged.
Forget terra-cotta. Opt for a waterproof fabric planter case, which definitely won’t crack and can be used indoors or out. It’s a cinch to transport, making it easy to move herbs around the yard to follow the sun.Next: Spring Patio Fix-Ups: 12 Wonderful Ways With Planters
Because I have a background in Asian art, the celadon green glaze on this stoneware planter speaks to me. It’s crafted far from China though, in Stockholm, by Swedish ceramicist Sara Soderberg. The uneven glaze and other-colored rim is actually more reminiscent of vintage pottery of the 1950s, but the sleeker shape is very much today.
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