This TikToker Created a Beautiful Planter from Broken Pots

When you’re working with ceramics, a break is bound to happen. But don’t relegate your broken terracotta pots to the trash. Instead, do as this TikToker did and create a whimsical little garden terrace scene using your pot shards and some strategically placed soil.

TikTok user Liliana Chirino (@lilyparadiseflowers) is a nursery owner located in Florida who sells her succulent arrangements and propagations on Etsy. And working with ceramic pots on a daily basis, she’s no stranger to the dreaded shatter. Chirino found a fun way to use those terracotta shards to build a unique succulent arrangement.

Starting with a larger broken pot, Chirino adds soil and then embeds pieces of a smaller broken pot into the soil. She then repeats the process until she reaches the top of the larger pot.

Once all the soil is in place, she then starts playing around with the succulent arrangement, adding a few varieties that drape over the side of the different levels. She then includes mini accessories like faux toadstools and a little mouse garden ornament. And how cute would glass stones, crystals, or rocks be nestled into the nooks and crannies?

The finished product looks like a garden path nestled into a hillside and the various different colors of succulents create a fairytale-like effect. 

“Proof that broken things can also be beautiful,” one person commented. “Now I wish I hadn’t thrown my broken pot away the other day,” another person added.

Put your imagination to work and start designing your own broken pot vignette using that shattered terracotta planter you were about to toss. Make it whimsical with some fairy-approved accessories, or keep it simple with just greens. Whatever you choose, you’re definitely turning your trash into treasure.