Statement Pots

How to choose a statement pot

The most common mistake is buying too small. A pot that looks enormous on a showroom floor shrinks the moment it stands against a house wall, so measure the space and be braver than feels natural. As a working rule, a feature pot beside an entry should reach somewhere between knee and hip height, and a jar meant to be seen across a garden needs to be at least 80cm tall to register. One large piece almost always beats three medium ones. Decide next whether it will be planted or stand empty: sculptural jars like the Pompeii Opium Jar and the Old Stone Cannibal Jar hold their own with nothing in them, while wide bowls such as the Wide Sala Pond and the Thai Limestone Stella Bowl ask for planting or water.

Placement before anything else

Position a statement piece where a sightline ends: opposite a window you actually look through, at the turn of a path, centred on a blank wall. Set it in place empty, live with it for a day, then commit, because a planted metre wide pot can weigh several hundred kilograms and will not be shuffled sideways later. Raise it slightly on pot feet so water clears the base, and check the ground is level; a large jar exaggerates every lean. On balconies confirm the load rating first and favour lighter GRC and ceramic pieces over carved limestone. Many of these pieces also appear in the extra large pots collection, which covers the practical sizing detail.

Planting a feature pot

Keep the planting simpler than the pot. A single clipped olive, a frangipani, a cycad or a spill of trailing rosemary reads far better in a distinctive vessel than a mixed arrangement fighting the vessel for attention. Use premium potting mix, cover the drainage hole with mesh, and in very deep jars fill the bottom third with upturned plastic pots before adding mix to save weight and money. Wide shallow bowls dry fast in summer, so plan on watering them every day or two in hot weather. If the pot stands empty, drill drainage or tip it after rain; a sealed jar of stagnant water breeds mosquitoes.

Materials and how they age

Premium Glaze ceramic keeps its colour and shine for decades and needs nothing beyond a rinse. Aged ceramic and earthenware pieces from the Old Stone and Pompeii ranges are made to weather further, growing more convincing each year; the full range of that look lives in the rustic and aged pots collection. Carved limestone slowly silvers and takes on moss in shade. GRC and lightweight concrete finishes mellow evenly, and the raw mineral pieces sit alongside their smaller siblings in the concrete and stone pots range.

Common questions

How do these big pieces arrive?

Standard sizes are delivered Australia wide from $29.95 with no minimum order. The largest jars and limestone pieces are freighted at cost on a pallet, quoted for your address, and a hand trolley plus two people handles most GRC pieces from kerb to garden.

Do statement pots need drainage holes?

Planted, always. Standing empty, either drill the base or choose a shape that sheds rain. Waterlogged pots are the main cause of winter cracking in any material.

What suits a windy site?

Weight wins in wind. Cast concrete, limestone and the heavier glazed jars stay put; a tall light pot with a leafy tree becomes a sail. If you must use a lightweight piece, ballast the base with 20kg of gravel before the mix goes in.