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Tiered terracotta planter

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With the advent of spring, something in my soul truly clamors for color, and nothing scratches that itch like a trip to my favorite nursery, The Flower Depot in Mayflower, Arkansas. Yesterday, I had the privilege to leave home (sans a single child!) for a couple of glorious hours while I headed to Tom’s store to buy my beloved spring flowers. Petunias, geraniums, and impatiens, oh my! The tranquility of that place is the antithesis of the constant hullabaloo of Chez Bell. 😉

Few things please me more than to use something I already have on hand in a fresh way to create something beautiful, so when I saw an idea a few years back in Southern Living for a completely ingenious new way to dress up ho-hum terracotta pots, I was totally on board. The concept is simple: take three standard pots – one large, one medium, and one small – and nestle them within one another in a way to create a planter that is as impressive as it is cost-effective. You just can’t beat that with a stick! I have been implementing the same idea since I first came across it all those years ago, and I’m going to share with you today exactly how I build my planter each year.

This year, I decided to dress things up a bit by painting the pots in vibrant red and turquoise (my current favorite color combination) and then stenciling our street number onto the largest pot. I am so pleased with the finished result!

Supplies:
Three terracotta pots: one small, one medium, one large
One terracotta saucer to fit the largest pot (optional, but highly recommended)
Thompson’s Water Seal spray
Spray paint
Acrylic craft paint and foam brush
Stencil (I created one using a sheet of card stock and my Cricut)
Paint Pen
Bricks
Potting soil
Crushed Coke cans

A few tips:

  • When choosing flowers to fill your pot, gardening experts recommend striving for plants to fit each of three descriptions: a thriller (something dynamic that immediately draws in the eye), a spiller (something that will trail down the side of the pot to add visual interest and anchor your design) and a filler (a flower variety to fill the space with lots of yummy color). In my planter this year, I chose Dracaena (a spiky plant – my thriller), Margarita Sweet Potato Vines (my spillers), and Diamond Frost and Petunias in red and white (fillers).
  • Don’t remove your stencil until your design has had the opportunity to dry completely.
  • Look to buy the pots when they are on sale to make this project especially budget-friendly. I purchased mine a couple of years ago from Garden Ridge at half off.
  • I recommend filling the bottommost space of any pot with crushed Coke cans to ensure proper drainage and so that the planter doesn’t become excessively heavy (and thus more difficult to move around). As long as you leave at least 10 inches or so of soil to fill the top portion of the pot, that will be enough space to allow for adequate root development.

Have a terrific week!
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 Please take a moment to check out these marvelous parties where I’ll be sharing this project!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Southern Fried Gal says

    I went all the way to Making The World Cuter to find a neighbor! I’m in NLR!

    I remember this in SL, too. I have it in my idea book! Very cute with the funky color and numbers – great job!

    Happy to find you out here. Have a blessed week!

  9. val says

    This is such a great idea! I just might have to try this with all the random pots I have laying around :)!

  10. Nicole Maki says

    This is a fabulous idea and I can’t wait to try it – we still have snow and that looks a little too heavy to haul inside for storms.

    I’ve heard the ‘thriller, spiller, filler’ rule before but when I’m standing at a nursery I never know which is which.

    Thanks for a brilliant idea. Found you from Making the World Cuter.

  11. Stacy says

    I love this Amy! Thanks so much for sharing! I have plenty of pots to paint and do this with. Now, to just pick out my spray paint colors and my flowers.

  12. Rachel says

    This looks so cool! At first I was just thinking I’d look but not be inspired to make, but wow! This is so cool and I think doable for our front door area. I was needing something to “dress it up” a bit. Thanks for the great idea.

  14. TheVirginiaHouse says

    I love this!!! What a cute idea and so creative. thanks for sharing. Link up to my We Can Do It Cheaper parties on Thursdays. I would love to have some of “my” followers see the stuff you do.
    My mom just sent me over here and I’m loving it so far.

  15. Natalie says

    Hi! LOVE this idea!! Found you on Blog Frog and I’m so glad that I decided to peek at your blog because I’m your newest follower!! I can’t wait to do this for my sister-in-law; she’d love it too! Thanks so much for sharing!

  19. ABC and 123: A Learning Cooperative says

    Hi Amy! Love it, what a great idea! It’s Katie from Katie’s Nesting Spot but I’m signed in as my educational blog. I’m working on a Mother’s Day idea post and I’ve included this in it. I used your 3 photo collage, gave a brief description, credited you, and provided a direct link to this post. I hope that was okay, but if it’s not let me know and I’ll remove it.

  20. Rosies says

    Oh my gosh I love this!! So cute! I am going to have to make one for sure!! Thanks for adding one more thing to my list!

  23. Ashleigh says

    How can something so simple, be so genius! I love this and I have a stack of terra cotta pots waiting to be painted. Thanks for inspiring me, just in the nick of time!

  24. Kimba says

    Oh. My. Word. Love this!

    I actually bought a set of pots to do something similar last summer. I never got around to finishing the project but I’m totally inspired and motivated now.

  29. Anj says

    I’m loving this! I’m planning a trip to the nursery this week… it looks like my shopping list just got a little longer;)
    BTW… darling blog!

  34. Mariska says

    This is SO cute. Nice colors, too!! This is my first time at your blog, too, so I’m going to check out more, it looks so neat!

  36. Debilou~Mississippi Mama says

    i’m so in love with this,, the color combo is so pretty. Just might have to make one for Mothers day.. surely be something they dont already have. Thanks for sharing with us..

  38. Kama says

    I just started this project. Do you have to put multiple layers of water seal on it? The first one I did is really splotchy… Maybe it’s the cheap $.97 WM paint?? I’ll try another coat of each on the next pots…

  52. Life in Rehab says

    I made the hop over here from Fireflies and Jellybeans (I’m the wall in the feature), and I hafta HAFTA do this! Your tutorial is great by the way.

  55. The Autocrat: Haley says

    I am sooo wanting to do the numbers on the clay pots. I am going to give some away for Christmas. However, the tower is very fabulous!! Need one for my front porch!

  56. ificould says

    I love this! Featured it on my blog ificould-ificould.blogspot.com

    Found you from girl and a glue gun- can’t wait to check out your other projects and see what you do in the future!! Thanks for the inspiration!

  59. Sheila Irish says

    I absolutely LOVE this and I cannot wait to try this myself! Thank you for sharing your Tutorial with us….Can I ask what the names of the colors of spray paint are that you chose to use? I LOVE those colors….

  60. Embellished Bayou says

    Thank you so much for sharing this fabulous tutorial! I’ve been so tempted to buy one of those re-barb poles to stack the tilted pots on, but they are $25! This is a much more cost-effective solution. I especially love how you painted them.

  70. Sharon@Keeninspirations says

    Hi! I just finished looking at Brandy’s Tiered planter and she mentioned that yours was her inspiration, so I thought I would come and see yours too! I love the colors that you chose!!1 Thanks for the tips on how to plant in them. I made a “Tipsy” tiered planter a while back and choosing the right plants was the hardest part for me!
    When you have a minute, please stop by and have a look at mine!
    Sharon
    http://keeninspirations.blogspot.com/2010/05/tipsy-pot-planter.html

  74. Denise from Ark says

    I have the tipsy-pot thingie and everyone loves it. However, last year when I planted it, I just left the pots their natural TC color. I love the way you’ve used them as a house number, and here’s why:

    My husband is a travel nurse and works contracts about 13 weeks at a time all over the country. We travel and live in a large RV. The lot numbers are oftentimes not very evident, so this is a good way to change up our “address” fairly often. I’ll just have to use greenery that will withstand the cold for winter filler, with picks or other decorations for color.

  78. Bella says

    Oh man, this is awesome. It just might be exactly what I need for my very boring planters in front of my garage. I want more height and with your wonderful tutorial, I think I know what to do now. Just curious why you spray water sealer on the inside of the pots? Is this to prevent them from molding, as this is what I hate about terra cotta pots. Your colors are fabulous, and I just live this idea so very much. Thanks a bunch for sharing. !!!

  85. Kelly says

    Thanks for the great idea! Mine’s finally finished in hot pink and lime green with white and pink flowers and bright green plants! Love it! Thanks!!

  87. Mireille's Learning Circle says

    Hi Amy
    this looks like a fun project. I do have two questions.
    1. Can you use plastic pots instead of Terra cotta clay pots – minimizing breaking
    2. Why the Thompson’s Water Seal spray
    inside the pots?

    thanks Amy
    Mireille
    Toronto, Canada

  92. Lazenby Family News says

    Oh my gosh Amy! You live in Conway? My daughter loves gardening and just lives up the road in Mayflower. Her husband is a “Master Gardener” and I’m hearing your weather this morning is beautiful. My daughter just sent a darling picture of a lovely light green Lunar Moth. It was resting this Spring morning on her window pane and looked like it was a stained -glass window. So glad I was looking for your planters and love them.

  93. Lazenby Family News says

    Oh my gosh Amy! You live in Conway? My daughter loves gardening and just lives up the road in Mayflower. Her husband is a “Master Gardener” and I’m hearing your weather this morning is beautiful. My daughter just sent a darling picture of a lovely light green Lunar Moth. It was resting this Spring morning on her window pane and looked like it was a stained -glass window. So glad I was looking for your planters and love them.

  96. Lisa says

    This is absolutely lovely!! Thank you so much for sharing and for the wonderful step-by-step! After reading your post, I decided to try making one for my Mom for Mother’s Day, she absolutely LOVED it!! Thank you so much for the inspiration!!!

  97. AFP says

    LOOOVEEEE this! I made my own the other day. I will be featuring this on my blog tomorrow brewedremarks.blogspot.com
    and will be sure to share your site. Thanks a bunch!

  98. Molly says

    These are really amazing! I don’t know how I haven’t stumbled across your blog yet, but now that I’m here I can’t wait to read through your ideas 🙂 Thanks for sharing these!
    -Molly
    JustALittleCreativity

  100. Ciera says

    I love this. I was wondering what size your pots are? I love the size of these. But don’t want to waste money on guessing the right size when you have the size perfect. :).

  101. Ciera says

    I love this. I was wondering what size your pots are? I love the size of these. But don’t want to waste money on guessing the right size when you have the size perfect. :).