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What Is Your Garden Style?

7/31/2012 1:22:05 PM

Create the garden that is best suited to your surroundings. Here are a few tips how.....

Gardening in containers can be as easy or as complex as you want to make it. The possibilities for combinations are only limited by the gardener's imagination. Just about any plant that grows in the ground will thrive in a pot, and it's worthwhile to note that some of the more invasive plants that you normally wouldn't introduce into your yard can be grown within the confines of a container. Let's start with looking at your environment:

Going for formal: As far as choices, a formal area tends to be symmetrical in form with orderly rows of containers regularly spaced in traditional or classical garden planters. Always neat, tidy the overall look can be very effective and impressive, it usually requires a lot of maintenance. Patterns may vary from style to style but symmentry is preferred. You don't need a huge formal home and garden area to achieve this effect. The styling is much more important.

Going for informal: In this type of setting, the plants develop their natural shapes and are arranged more irregularly or casually. You will find more curved lines and shapes that flow and are not rigid. Few straight edges or geometric forms will make up the planters with a more relaxed and comfortable feel. This type is a lot less demanding with maintenance.

Other types would be Natural, Southwestern, country or modern. Try creating an eastern garden with an Asian flair or a Grecian garden with pedestals and flowing ivy. When it comes to style options you can go cottage, English or colorful.

Here are a few things to ponder before you begin.

How do you currently use your yard?

If you have pets or kids will the design need to be safe?

What are you favorite plants?

What is your budget?

Make your own Japanese Garden

7/27/2012 4:07:57 PM

Create your own Japanese Garden by following these tips. They bring the culture and character of Japan into your landscape. You might not be able to travel to Kyoto to visit its famed public and private gardens but there are more than 300 public Japanese gardens in North America. The quantity alone points to the popularity of Asian style gardens outside Japan, and visiting one in your area should be a first step in learning more.

Study nature and take note of the innate beauty of water, rocks, native plants and topography. The best Japanese gardens evoke natural scenery.

They try to capture natural patterns and distill them into a small space near your home. Start by selecting foliage plants. Flowering trees and shrubs are present in traditional Japanese gardens, but the primary use of broad leaf evergreen and coniferous plants ensures year round texture and interest. A really well done garden will look good in all four seasons. Mix in some glazed garden planters and fill with smaller versions of green plants like palms or rubber trees.

Include a water feature. Almost every good Japanese garden has water in some form or another. Some have ornaments with water or a basin of water. Larger gardens have a pond or stream. A lot of the most natural patterns involve water,such as the way a river curves or the flow of water over a boulder.

Many garden planters can be turned into water features. The sounds of bubbling water is soothing and lovely and you can fill the planter with river rock giving it a natural affect. Fill a pond with koi and float lilies.

Connect the landscape to your home. The most important thing about a Japanese garden is to integrate the house and the garden together. Add a sun room or seasonal room with an indoor - outdoor connecting and extend the deck almost to the water's edge. Fill the garden with Japanese lanterns with a soft candle glow. Place a birdbath or bird feeder where you can attract local wildlife and hear the pleasant sounds. Always have a bench of some type to sit on for meditation or just a peaceful visit.

The Lore & Legends of Gazing Balls

7/25/2012 3:29:26 PM

Garden gazing balls have many names, including garden balls, garden globes, witch balls, butler globes, globe of happiness, and Victorian balls. They have been in and out of fashion in American yards for close to a century. The traditional silver ball best accomplishes the purpose of a gazing ball, which is to gather in and reflect the garden.

The lore of gazing balls is as colorful as the balls themselves. Legend holds that these balls have mysterious powers to bring happiness, good luck, and prosperity and to ward off evil spirits, misfortunes, illness, and witches. In olden days in England, it was believed that the mirrored surface of witching balls, kept indoors would protect the house from witches.

In Victorian times, the butler ball served as a mirror for servants to see when guests needed assistance without having to stare at them throughout a meal. In the South, gazing balls placed strategically near the front gate, allowed the owners to see who was coming, providing time to gather refreshments or to hide if it was necessary.

We have high gloss colored gazing balls. They are available in red, green, and the ever-popular blue. Place them in a garden area where they will add color and artistic touches. Use them in a flower bed or tuck them under a lush green plant. Available in different sizes they look lovely when mixed with colors & sizes.

By Arizona Pottery
Post Last Updated: 9/18/2023 2:19:08 PM

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Comments (8)

Last comment made

5/7/2020 8:53:44 AM

Arizona Pottery

5/7/2020 8:53:44 AM

Hi Dave, We are out of stock on all gazing balls.

Dave treinen

5/4/2020 12:24:52 PM

How do I order blue gazing balls and what are they made of

Arizona Pottery

3/7/2017 8:23:52 AM

Hi Cindy, I am sorry but we have sold out of these gazing balls and are searching for a new supplier. Will keep you posted when we find one. We do however still have green left in stock if that would work.

Cindy Edmonds

3/7/2017 8:14:48 AM

How do I purchase the large blue garden balls

Lucy Chavez

6/8/2016 8:34:02 AM

Please send me pricing for Garden Spheres Go to this link for the website https://www.arizonapottery.com/item.asp?iid=8219

michelle love

4/14/2015 11:08:39 AM

do you have any clear or colored gazing balls in stock in Scottsdale? what size and how much? I am sorry Michelle, we do not. Try Home Goods. They are all over the tri county area.

Arizona Pottery

4/13/2015 8:05:22 AM

Sorry but we don''t ship outside the United States.

carmen stephene

4/11/2015 5:58:58 PM

Do u ship to the uk

Make This Planter - I am easy!

7/23/2012 3:15:17 PM

This foliage based, classic rendition of the thriller, filler, and spiller design included an upright architectural eye catcher, its billowy surround, and its cascading skirt, each with leaves distinctive in color and form.

This container is very large and made of real terra-cotta clay. Fill the bottom with pot filler and then add the potting mix soil. Start in the middle with the tallest plant then the sides and last the drape.

This project is easy to do and stunning in size and effect.

The tallest center plant is: Australia Canna

The middles greens are: Fishnet Stockings coleus

The cascading plants are: Dichondra Silver falls

The best conditions are full sun to partial shade.

By Arizona Pottery
Post Last Updated: 9/18/2023 2:19:31 PM

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Outdoor structures/Indoors terms

7/19/2012 3:13:36 PM

When you think of a garden, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Pottery, flowers, textured foliage. Without a good structure a garden is just a collection of plants. Follow these simple steps a turn a boring garden into a indoor room.

The 3 most common structures are arbors, trellises and pergolas. They can create doorways to your garden, walls that aren't there and a ceiling which to hang potted plants on.

Arbor: Creates a sense of arrival to an outdoor room. You can cover it with plants, set 2 pots on each side like an entryway, and create an inviting way into your yard or garden areas. It provides a sense of arrival that comes with passing through it, comparable to arriving in a home through a foyer rather than simply entering a doorway.

This little passageway becomes a room of it's own. A few simple tips are a deeper passageway extends the experience and you should allow a height of 7 feet to make it comfortable to walk under.

Trellis: Works just like a wall, where no wall exists. It is mostly open but lends a feeling of enclosure when you cover the trellis with potted plant vines. You can attache one to an outside blank wall to add decoration or make it freestanding and use as a barrier to block unsightly air conditioning equipment or a neighbors window. It doesn't provide the same privacy as a solid fence, but it is more decorative when there are plants covering it.

Pergola: Thought it doesn't provide closed, coverage, it does provide shade and a sense of enclosure. Often used to cover seating or dining table options. Set potted plants around the posts and let the potted plants climb up them and cover the top, creating a living ceiling.

Grape covered pergolas are very popular and they can keep you dry during light rain or shaded in intense sunlight. Try to match the style of your house or any other garden structures you may have.

By Arizona Pottery
Post Last Updated: 9/18/2023 2:19:55 PM

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A Trellis Hoop For Any Planter!!

7/17/2012 2:27:20 PM

When these willow cages are set into terracotta pots and planted with colorful flowers, they provide a focal point all season long in your garden or patio areas. This cage takes about 2 hrs to make, and all the materials are easy to come by. Give it a go and let us know how you did.

Pencil thick willow switches make up the hoops. You will need two 42" long, four 36" long and four 26" long. The cage looks best when it is a bit taller than the pot it sits in. The measurements here are for a 11" terracotta clay azalea pot, which is wider than tall. It also has nearly vertical walls, which help the cage sit in it snugly.

Peel the leaves and snip off the side branches from the switches. Cut the two best looking 42" long for the main hoops. Cut four thick switches 36" for the middle and found 26" for the lower. Mark the inside of the pot at the 12 o'clock spot and again at 3,6 & 9 o'clock spots. Put the two main hoops inside the pot at right angels to each other so that each end sticks 3" into the pot. Use a twist tie to hold the marked centers together. You can tape the inside of the pots to hold them together.

Then curve one of the middle hoops and place the ends on each side of one of the main hoops. The top of the curve should rest about 1/3 of the way down outside the main hoop.

The lower hoops are placed in the same way. To make the cage more stable weave the lower hoops in front of and behind the middle and main hoops where you can. Fasten the remaining intersections with twist ties.

Traditionally these cages are planted with carnations but many different types of plant materials look good in them. Try to select plants that bloom for a long time or that have nice foliage over several seasons. You can always plant bulbs in them and they look fantastic.

Place the pots on a patio or deck, or even in a mixed garden border. Stick them right into the bed. These are easy to do and lovely once made.

By Arizona Pottery
Post Last Updated: 9/18/2023 2:20:21 PM

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Set the stage for a symphony.

7/13/2012 3:27:35 PM

Wake up to a symphony of bird song, when you set up your garden area the right way. Here's how.....Attracting birds to your garden.

Begin with a homemade or commercial feeder. We have a fun and huge selection of birdhouses and feeders. Then purchase a large bag of wild bird feed. Birds seem to "find" the food mostly easily when it's about four feet off the ground. After a while, you may observe that the particular birds in your ara prefer more of a particular kind of seed. You can also set out chunks of suet in a wire cage to provide high energy food in cold weather.

In cold climates either feed birds consistently or don't start feeding them at all. They will come to depend on you as a source of food. Birds love a bit of water to bathe in and drink. They need places near the feeding area in which to perch or hide from predators. If you don't have any trees or shrubs for this purpose then plant some in huge garden planters so you can move them where they need to be.

Attract hummingbirds by planting the kinds of flowers they prefer. Many of them are partial to red and orange flowers, and they like long, tubular flowers such as salvias and trumpet vines. They also like a moving water source, such as a fountain or waterfall. Arizona Pottery also sells some beautiful glass hummingbird feeders.

Hang bird feeders and hummingbird potted plants close to your window so you can enjoy the show. If you hang a lace curtain in the window, you can watch the birds at close range without disturbing them.

Fun and simple!

A Room For All Seasons

7/11/2012 2:40:26 PM

It's natural to visualize a garden room on a sunny summer day, with breezes blowing the curtains and golden light streaming in. Indeed, many garden rooms - especially transitional ones like porches, verandas, and some sun rooms - are strictly warm season spaces. Conservatories were created as a way to make an indoor space for potted plants that would stay warm during cold winter months.

One of the greatest joys of any kind of garden room is being in a leafy, light place when everything outdoors is cold and gray. For avid gardeners, winter can be a frustrating season. But, spending it in a home created garden room, tending to indoor potted plants or sorting see packets and browsing thru catalogs, can make the season a restful interlude.

For those who enjoy gardens less actively, the opportunity to be in a room that recalls the beauties of the growing season - sipping a cup of tea while gazing out at the snow covered landscape or listening to rain on the roof - is one of life's greatest pleasures.

There is nothing more comforting then the sight of bright seed packets on a cold winters day. Turn your thoughts to gardening and dream.

Creating a garden room is easy to do. Find a space like a porch where you can set up a table or two with potted plants & saucers. Add a chair for relaxing and enjoyment. Force bulbs in winter and fill with lush potted flowers in summer. Add a small desk if there is room to stock your garden books and magazines. Can spring be far behind????

Make This Garden Planter!

7/9/2012 2:01:30 PM

A planter bowl of mixed plants almost always looks better than the same number dotted around in individual pots. Garden center and florists often sell mixed garden bowls, but you can probably make on more cheaply using a container that you already have. Or, you can enhance the process of creating one by purchasing a new bowl from Arizona Pottery. It's always fun to find new plants to use.

What you will need to create this look:

* A large ceramic or clay garden bowl with drain hole.
* Bark chippings or pot filler.
* Compost
* A collection of mixed foliage and flowerling plants.

Step one is easy. Cover the drainage hole with crock pieces, bark chippings or pot filler, which we sell in our pot accessory section. Partially fill the container with compost.

It is a good ideas to have a showy centerpiece plant - then insert an empty pot temporarily in the center so you are sure to leave enough space of other plants.

Place the other plants around the centerpiece pot, rearranging them as necessary while still in their pots. Do not start planting in the compost until you are happy with the results.

Then remove the plants from their pots and plant. Finally, insert the centerpiece. If it is going to be there for some time, remove it from the pot and plant directly into the soil. If you are likely to have to replace it after a few weeks - as is common with flowering plants once they finish blooming - keep it in its container.

Here is a great tip. for a lively, varied mix use a combination of small bushy, vertical and trailing plants. Tradescantias are a good choice for the last category, particularly since they come in a wide range of bright colors, including greens, creams and bronze.

Plant any time of year.