Deborah Silver is an accomplished and experienced landscape and garden designer whose firm first opened its doors in 1986.
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cassia in a French pot, 2007
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You may feel exhausted after looking at this many pictures of plantings in French terra pots, but it would be tough to exhaust the possibilities for planting them.
Our first container from Rob’s orders in France this past September today arrived this morning around 9. Though we have imported close to 50 containers (a container being a steel box 40 feet long, by 10 feet wide, by 10 feet tall) over the past 15 years, I have yet to get over the thrill of that big truck pulling up. A container arriving is exciting.
It took this driver 6 passes to back down our narrow driveway-fewer than most. There was a little ceremony regarding the cutting of the bolt. Only I can OK the opening (unless US Customs decides to get involved). This is a perfect moment that I have had the good fortune to experience multiple times. What I imagine about Rob’s order is about to become a reality.
Rob shopped artisanal poteries in France this past September, with special orders in mind. We engaged a European agent this time, for the first time, to oversea the making and the packing of those orders; Rob has known her for years. He waved off all of my objections. He wanted someone knowledgeable to look after the manufacture and packing of our order. This proved to be a good decision.
Some of the very large pots we ordered exploded in the kiln. Some pots cracked. CM saw to getting certain pots remade. She advised us of possible substitutes. She had ideas about what might fill the small spaces in the container. An order in progress in Europe needs a European representative. The work of offloading and unpacking was an easy exercise, by comparison. The pots were expertly packed. Every single pot survived the trip without so much as a scratch or chip.
Artisanal poteries-we have a significant interest in them. They have a point of view, a style, and a way of making all their own. The quality of the pots is excellent. The large pots are incredibly heavy. The drain holes in the bottom of the large pots reveal the clay is close to 2 inches thick. Our idea is to make handmade and individually designed pots available to gardeners with a passion much like ours.
This handmade French pot is of a size that commands attention. Most of the pots Rob ordered are of a size that is neighborhood friendly. But we have a few that are show stoppers.
The green glazed French pots are very handsome. This color comprises the bulk of our order. Though I was disappointed not to have any pale blue pots, I understand Rob’s idea. He likes a collection that has considerable depth, rather than breadth. This specific glaze specified by Rob is closer to an eggshell finish than the traditional high gloss. We really needed that spot where Howard chose to settle in, but he likes being close to the action.
The face pots-I requested 4 of these. The glaze is shockingly beautiful in person. I had never seen a glazed French pot with a white, grey, and black surface such as this. As for the cherubic faces and grape garlands-I am charmed by them.
We unpacked many pots today-all of them architectural, some just plain gorgeous, some with rustic and highly textural finishes. Hidden in one of the pots, a thank you in the form of two bottles of French wine.
I have a foursome of white glazed vases in the classic Anduze style in my possession. These vases are better than 4 feet tall. The possibilities for planting them? Just about limitless. Not to mention that these pots would look equally great unplanted. The best reason I can think of for investing in beautiful garden pots is how they persuade me to plant them, year after year. 
We had a substantial lot of pots delivered today. The garage that was empty yesterday is stuffed with garden pots-handmade French garden pots today. My 10,000 square foot building is bulging at the seams, and we still have another container, and all of our domestic spring orders to go. Thia is as it should be-trying to find places for everything.
These cream and yellow pots are elegant and graceful.
The glaze on these pots-very rustic and markedly textured-is quite subtle. The peach colored clay of the inside contrasts warmly with that muted grey finish.
At the end of this day, I was really tired. It took the entire day to unpack. I barely had time to admire them.
Luckily I will have a little time to get to know them before the shop gets busy again.
I had a call last week from Bruce Bailey, the owner of Heavy Petal Nursery in Washington. He is one of a group of featured speakers at the seminars which will be offered at this year’s Northwest Flower and Garden Show. This is a very well respected and well attended event. Their seminars will be given by a group of people greatly esteemed in the field of horticulture. The exhibits, and market sound great-I wish I were close enough to go and participate in all of it. He called to ask if he might use some pictures of my container plantings in his presentation. I told him that I was inordinately pleased that he would ask and of course it is ok. Many thanks for your interest, Bruce.
Bruce Bailey – Owner, Heavy Petal Nursery, Moses Lake, WA
Bruce Bailey is the owner of Heavy Petal Nursery, in Moses Lake, Washington, “Where plants rock.” He is a passionate horticulturist with a background in art history and design, and an accomplished interior designer. Heavy Petal Nursery provides an unconventional selection of gardening products for a unique shopping experience, with new varieties and surprising introductions of garden worthy plants, as well as old fashioned and unjustly forgotten favorites. They specialize in bringing hardy plants to Eastern Washington, expanding the plant palette for inter-mountain and high desert gardeners. The nursery offers a wide variety of inspiring plants hardy in the USDA zone 5a, as well as pushing zones up to USDA zone 7a.
A Container Named Desire
Making a Personal Statement with Bold Containers
Wed, Feb 8 at 5:45 pm / Hood Room
Of course I am curious about what pictures he will choose. In the close to 3 years of writing this blog, I have published lots of pictures. For sure I know that what appeals to one will leave the next person cold. This is the best part of planting the pots. Every gardener has a distinctively individual idea about what constitutes beautiful.
This is why I plant the annual gardens in the front of the shop different every year. This is why I planted every one of the 33 pots for the city of Birmingham differently. Everyone has their own individual idea about what strikes a chord with them. Diversity-I like this.
The containers in a garden can be planted differently every year. I like that I can explore a certain interest or point of view over the course of a season, jump ship, and change directions the next.
The possible combinations for container plantings are infinite. Once I commit to a design, I make very sure the maintenance of that container is consistent. I want the opportunity to see a container all grown out.
I am fortunate to have clients that look after their containers diligently. I know what it is to be too tired to water, but water I do anyway. Water, they do. That which is a garden chore is just as much a joy. A beautiful container planting pleases to the bone.
I can plant raucous-I can plant cool and collected. Every style of planting I am asked to do has common ground. The color relationships, the mature shape, the textures and mass apply to every container design.
A green scheme for containers is a favorite of mine. An old client and I share this. Sourcing unusual and specimen green plant material for her all green pots is one of my most favorite moments of the spring season.
Chocolate leaves interest me. This canna, the chocolate Mint coleus, and the brown sweet potato vine makes for a brown medley-sweet.
One year I planted an old agave in the pot in my rose garden. It was undeniably beautiful. It was Buck’s most favorite container planting ever. That said, I knew it was too visually rigorous for me. I do love flowers. The past 2 years, this pot has been home to a collection of summer flowering plants. This is not to say I might revisit an entirely architectural planting in this pot some day. Who klnows what will strike my fancy in the May to come. As for what speaks to Bruce about my work-I have no idea. He promised he would let me know.
Should you be interested: http://www.gardenshow.com/
I had notice from my customs broker today that the first of our two containers from France is in customs. This is such great news. This July 2010 photograph by Bertrand Kulik of the Eiffel Tower during a storm perfectly describes my anticipatory excitement. French garden design, French garden pots-what is not to like? Rob’s trip to France was in mid September of last year-some 4 months ago. Why so long a wait for a pair of containers? The bulk of our purchases were terra cotta pots, made to order. We bought many pots from the Poterie de la Madeleine over the past 15 years. Rob had a long standing relationship with the owner Roland Zobel, and his assistant, Madame Pellier. After his untimely death in 2004, the poterie de la Madeleine changed hands.
Rob shopped this past September in new places. New to him, that is. When he buys glazed French terra cotta pots, he does not buy from existing stock. He special orders every pot to be custom made for us. He specifies styles, sizes, and glazes that appeal to him, and contribute to a coherent collection. It takes a lot of time for these small French poteries to fill a special order.
Glazed French garden pots are indescribably beautiful. There are those classic designs and classic colors dating back centuries. There are new glazes and shapes that are enchanting. The small artisanal poteries produce very fine quality pots. They are very well schooled in the history, and small enough to take chances. Of course we are interested in all of the above.
These pictures from his trip to France are astonishing. I have never seen terra cotta for the garden produced and displayed on this scale in the US. I suspect the mild Mediterranean climates have much to do with the large space that is devoted to garden pots. Gardening is a way of life in Europe. This casual display is telling. The pot yard has a dirt floor. A garden pot has a job-it holds the soil, that enables the plants to grow-all in a beautiful way.
Of course I want my garden pots to be beautiful-who doesn’t? If they are steeped in history, I love that simmering stew. Should they have beautiful proportions, sound and sturdy construction, and heft, I am interested. Should their beauty enchant my eye and heart, the planting of that pot is as close to a perfect moment as I can imagine. Rob dealt with every French poterie in that self effacing and attentive way that marks his relationships with all of our overseas suppliers. This means we have a container in customs that is all about his respect for their craftsmanship, and his passion for the garden. That intersection of fired earth, and his vision-inside that container.
He called me multiple times last September about a matte green glaze that caught his eye. I completely trust his judgment. If he loves a matte green glaze, then I do too. 16 years of buying garden pots in France means he knows how to feel the clay. What do I mean by this?
I cannot explain this so well in words. He introduces himself to the pot makers. He looks at the thickness of the clay. He tries on every glaze, every patine ancienne. He considers the history. He considers every new interpretation. He takes the time to make thoughtful decisions. He imagines a relationship between a pot and an agave, or a tomato, or a topiary. He edits. Making his thoughts come to life depends on the relationships he has nurtured for many years. He asks if special glazes are available. He devotes whatever it takes that might result in a garden pot of distinction.
Garden pots made in France-why would you want one? Why wouldn’t you? A beautiful pot makes the gardening all the more pleasurable. The shapes and glazes please the eye.
These are our pots, ready to load in the container.
We try to completely fill the container top to bottom. There is no sense in shipping air across the ocean. It is extremely difficult to estimate what will fill a container. That is why we have a second container due in Detroit over the weekend.
All of the poteries cooperated in delivering their pots to the poterie where we had our largest order. This picture was taken on January 5. Should the trip through customs go smoothly, we should have our pots in no time.