Posts Tagged ‘containers’

4 Jun

Umbrella Planter Puts a Centerpiece on the Patio Table

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , .

Umb-Planter-CeramicRd-APCM940PW

The only place in our roof garden that isn’t stuffed with plants is the patio table. That’s the opposite of how we live inside, where we almost always have a plant or flowers on our dining table.

grandinroad

Next year, we could add one of these umbrella planters to the center of the table. The more gardening books I read, the more curious I’m getting. This could be a fun place to plant a tiny alpine container garden or a crazy scene full of sedums and hens and chicks.

HGUMBRELLAPLANTER__1But would it leak and splash in the rain, leaving mud all over the table? I know that’s what R* would ask me. The bird crap on the table is enough to scrub off as it is.

Shopping for an Umbrella Planter:
eBay: Inexpensive and goes with everything, but terra cotta breaks easily

Grandin Road: $99 is pretty steep for something seasonal, but for someone going copper, it could be great.

Simply Planters: Too expensive and too dramatic.

Back Yard City: Out of stock.

I can’t figure out why large stores and brands like Martha Stewart, Target, and Home Depot don’t sell these. And why are these out of stock at so many online retailers? I’m looking for umbrella planter gossip. Does it have something to do with these patents?

29 May

Smith and Hawken’s Stack and Grow Planter

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: .

stack_and_grow_planter

We’re running out of space for plants. Tomorrow, we’re potting two irises with some yarrow and two rose bushes. Once those plants go in, we’ll have no vacancy up there for the rest of the summer.

Now we’re eyeing this Stack and Grow Planter from Smith & Hawken. A plant skyscraper seems very New York to me. Since water is scarce up on our roof (we need to lug it up from our apartment on the second flooor), we dig how the water efficiently drains through the whole planter.

Too bad the Stack and Grow Planter is round though. A square shape would be easier to tuck into a corner when we have guests and need more space for the grill. Also, the plant pockets look shallow and I keep hearing that the key to great roof gardening is huge, deep pots.

28 May

Home Depot: More Pots and Some Yarrow

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , , , .

yarrow_onthe_nyc_subway

A gardener friend of ours toured the Presby Memorial Iris Garden in Upper Montclair, NJ and gave us two iris plants. We want to get them set up on the roof before our cat attacks them, so I went to Home Depot last night to buy more pots.

We’re not sure if the irises will flower this summer or not, so I picked up this yarrow to plant with them. That should keep things colorful all summer. (They looked great on the subway trip home anyway!)

According to Wikipedia: “Nursery rhymes say if you put a yarrow sachet under your pillow, you will dream of your own true love. If you dream of cabbages (the leaves do have a similar scent), then death or other serious misfortune will strike.” Yarrow is drought-tolerant and attracts butterflies.

R* and I are determined to have all of the pots in our garden match — same curved shape and same terra cotta color. We bought all of the big plastic pots we could get at Target in Brooklyn, but now they’re sold out. Luckily, Home Depot in Manhattan sells the exact same line of plastic pots, though they are more expensive at Home Depot.

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