Some people may think that potted plants are potted plants are potted plants, but you and I know that how and where you arrange your plants makes the difference between ho-hum and wholly cool. There are likely as many creative arrangements as there are plants themselves, but all of these favorites get extra points for being easy to achieve.
For most of these plant arrangements — as with many accessory arrangements in general — strength in numbers seems to be key to achieving a high impact look.
• Topsy Turvy. Suspended upside down gardening is the, sorry, height of cool. There are a lot of variations on the market at the moment, but a personal favorite is Boskke's sky planter pictured above.
• Potted Plantelier. — that’s plant plus chandelier incase you were wondering. I spotted this over at Martha Stewart, and can't wait to try it myself. They used mint, but nearly any herb or small plant would work.
• Plants gone wild. OK, I'll admit that I'm still not sure whether I like this arrangement for its own sake or not, but I do like the idea of hanging plants to dress up an unsightly exterior wall, or just to add some whimsy to a lackluster spot.
• Gracing the Balcony. If you're lucky enough to have a balcony and a landlord/ condo association nice enough to let you decorate it how you'd like, then you can turn your little perch into a little paradise. Attach potted plants to the railings and line others up around the perimeter.
• Inside Gardens. This picture hails from an upcoming House Tour. Kim, the owner, used tables of varying heights and lots of plants in a variety of containers to dress up a hard-to-use corner of her apartment. For more indoor garden inspiration, check out this post.
Images: 1: Boskke, 2 & 3: Martha Stewart, 4: Barcelona Beso, 5: Leah Moss
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Comments (15)
NO! to the first photo. Not wholly cool, just weird.
Photo #3 is good...the repetition in the plant material and pots along with the graphic feel of the repeated placement is nicely done.
Upside down plants seems like not only the epitome of trying too hard to achieve novelty for novelty's sake, but also looks horrible and is quite terrible for the plants. Also, all those little blue pots on the wall? And the little pots on the railing? Each and every one of them needs watering at least every 2 days as they dry out in the hot sun. These folks would have been much better off with larger window boxes. I know I sound curmudgeonly, but I container garden and there's a BIG difference between magazine art direction gardening and actual garden maintenance. For me it would kick in the 5th time in 10 days I had to get the ladder out to water those blue pots. Ugh.
an elegant style
Oh I just loathe the upside-down plant thing. Those plants did not grow that way - they were turned over for the picture. A plant that actually has lived in a pot like that will start to bend just as plants seek out the sun. It's called gravitropism. I feel so bad for all those poor confused tomatoes out there. Dumb.
I also container garden and while I think these arrangements are lovely, they're why Martha Stewart has staff.
Errrmmm.... how do you water those? And don't orchids require a special type of soil, that is not (last time I checked) gravity defying?
As a black thumb, the only success I've had with "high impact" plants are these cute little air plants:
http://justanothertreehugger.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/more-fun-with-air-plants/
I glued them on to tiles... I'm really proud of how they came out - and all I need to do is spray them every few days - no need for gravity defying dirt :)
Yeah, I'm with the crowd. All of them are completely impractical and likely to end up full of dead plants. Plus the upside down thing is the ultimate in trying too hard to be different.
I had the same concern as mssk about watering outdoor potted plants. It's lovely, but impractical.
Yeah check out the railing plants, they don't even have basins for overflow, which means every time you water them, soil , nutrients and of course water rains down to the street below. Fail.
Another post evidencing that Apartment Garden writers don't actually garden.
Garden --> Therapy, sorry.
I am weird feeling bad for the plants that are grown upside down? If I were a plant I wouldn't wanna be upside down my entire life :P it's cruel...
I'm the only one who likes the Boskke, huh? I've got two on the way, and if it helps my orchids, I'll never say a bad word about them.
Just say no to upside down plants. The blue pots on the wall is very beautiful, but lacks practicality. I think it could be done with the same impact but some improvising.
really people? these are all whimsical and fabulous. i love them. get out a hose and spray that wall of blue pots, it's so worth it.
Once every other day is a hardship??? That would be very easy, by my desert standards. I had baskets on a patio that required 2x per day watering.
Now THAT is devotion!
(I don't do that anymore, but my potted plants on the patio need water every day.)