SPRING terra cotta pot garden 'totems'

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This isn't a secret: Deb becomes obsessed with POTS in springtime! I've waxed poetic about my collections here, they are the very first thing I look for at thrift stores and yard sales, and you'll find projects using terra cotta pots for every season of the year here on the blog.

I recently saw an idea on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try... using plain old terra cotta plant pots to create 'garden totems'. It's a simple project that works as art AND a way to store unused pots in style:

This style is made with all the same size pots. Mine use varied sizes because that's what I have on hand - and that's my favorite way to decorate.

Follow along as I show you just how easy this one is...

DWK


Basically, these are aesthetically pleasing stacks of pots.

I've added a metal rod down the center to hold them securely - you could glue them or use museum putty to do the same, I just like projects that can be dis-assembled quickly so I can try something else!

materials: 
⧫ terra cotta pots in any sizes and shapes you prefer.

⧫ metal, wood, or bamboo rods - like plant stakes - to provide interior support for the pots. The larger your pots, the more you need the interior support stake.

⧫ hammer or mallet to sink the stake into the ground.

⧫ small knife or garden pruners - I used these to enlarge the VERY tiny holes in my smallest pots, as seen below: 

A gentle scraping motion around the drainage hole from the outside of the pot will shave away the terra cotta clay slowly, without cracking.

Method:

I separated my pots by size, and decided I had enough to create three totems. I placed them in the raised-bed herb garden, behind the plants.

⧫ I used a mallet to pound one stake into the soil.

⧫ One of the largest pots was placed right side up and slid over the metal stake. I made sure it sat level on the ground before continuing.

⧫ A pot of the same size was placed on top of the first pot, this one upside-down.

⧫ Two smaller pots were placed on top of the large ones.

⧫ A second metal stake was placed into the ground and the second totem was built with smaller pots.

Below, you can see all three totems after I finished 'fussing' with them... I changed a few pot positions to make it more aesthetically pleasing to my eye.

That was easy to do because I didn't glue them together - so here's a tip if you plan to do so: Play around with the pot placement BEFORE adding glue, so that if you don't like the final look, you can re-arrange the pots.

My tiniest pots in that 'baby' totem just make me smile...

I found one last, lone pot in the garage AFTER I had finished the totems... because, of course... and I was just too lazy to take one apart and add it in. So, it's a prop!! (And I think my resident green tree froggie will probably LOVE to hide in there on hot summer days.)

I love the subtle artful vibe it adds to our herb garden - and it doesn't clash with the tikis elsewhere in the yard. 

I hope this project inspires you to use things differently!

You can also find more ideas for using terra cotta pots as decor here on the blog, including the two I've linked below...

related content:


terra cotta pot wreath 


terra cotta pot mushrooms


Shared Online:

Funky Junk Interiors | New Upcycle Ideas # 825 



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