apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think this looks silly and rather ghetto.

I could see this if the holes were filled with glass bits or something pretty - and if the plants were, you know, healthy. Otherwise it does look a little strange.

i agree with you guys, i think it looks terrible. really unfinished...

I had a neighbor in the city I used to live in that grew tomatoes and vegetables in this manner. They were grown in large buckets, which were buried in the ground up to their rims. We had very bad soil there that wasn't safe to grow edibles in and I thought it was a clever solution. It gave him complete control over the health of the soil and the plant without having to build raised beds. With the plants laid out in neat rows, the buckets looked so much better "planted" than they ever would have above ground.

I think if the pots in the photos were buried just a little bit deeper and the soil packed more closely to the pots (imagine just the lip of the pot sticking out of the ground, encircling the plant) then they would look great as well.

Just wanted to point out that, aesthetics aside, planting in this way can help to overcome the perils of bad or inappropriate soil for what you're growing.

I recently bought a dwarf Meyer lemon tree and I just can't imagine it in the ground in it's pot like this.

Hi, I agree in the photos it does appear to look a bit ghetto but I have to say that the concept in person looks great.
Usually when you want to change the scale or elevation of planted pots, you see them on a plant stand, or shelf, or something like that. Seeing the pots somewhat buried in the ground takes you a bit by surprise. It is original and clever without it being too weird....I declare it a success!

I've seen this done in the planters at the Deptford Mall (NJ), and on the grounds of Rutgers University. Perhaps having to do with a quick change should something dies and need to be replaced or to change seasonally. I've also seen this at the Philadelphia Flower Show, which is one of the best in the country. That, of course, is all temporary landscaping and planting.

Hey there, hatas ! You're right, this looks AWFUL. The gaps around the pots were intended to be filled with pigmy date palms, and then underplanted with layers of Terrace Lime. Why on earth this unfinished detail of my work was photographed two days before the showcase opened, and then FEATURED, is beyond me. This look is not quirky, or fun, or unexpected - it's just incomplete. It's funny that people are weighing in on it, oblivious of the context. Props to VickyA, the only one smart enough to realize she was looking at something TEMPORARY and seasonal- the plants go back into my courtyard when the showcase closes. Vicky, if there's a way to get your address discreetly, I'll send you one of my famous scented Virtue candles, your prize for paying close attention/having a brain. For what it's worth, these plants ARE perfectly healthy, and were very specifically chosen because they don't look florist perfect. I wanted them to look real, like they'd been there awhile. Gardens full of hothouse-fresh foliage are a bad look. This is all a great example of how easily things can get out of control in the age of instant junk communication. MY ADVICE : stop sitting around at your computers blogging and go out and actually DO or CREATE something. Or better yet, PLANT SOMETHING - maybe some 'ipomoea batatas' under my ghetto pots !.....