French Style Landscaping: Using Terracotta Planters

I must say I didn't always love terracotta pots.  Then at some point it was like a light switch flipped and every planter needed to be replaced with terracotta.  They should be, they provide many benefits over plastic containers. For example:

1) Terracotta is porous, making it nearly impossible to overwater your plants.  Plastic containers hold in water.  Terracotta allows for water to move through the clay and evaporate.

2) This evaporation is good for the roots, as it allows for cooling just as if the plant were in the ground.  The plant roots can breathe.

This home was designed by Jack Arnold of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  His home designs are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.  Like great architects, he too knows its all in the details.  These little details, like the perfectly placed terracotta pots, work together with other elements to give an amazing feel to the space.  As you might already know from previous posts, the home we will be building and featuring on this blog was designed by Jack Arnold.  It should be fun to see one of his homes built from start to finish.

How interesting is this terracotta factory?  There are so many shapes and sizes of terracotta to choose from! I feel most people just think of using terracotta for planters, but terracotta has been used for thousands of years to create sculptures, tiles, and bricks to name a few.

These terracotta pots really do their job of taking your eye right to the wood door.  I like how they use trees to add height to the space.

This terracotta pig is just too neat.  I want one!

The classic terracotta pot with boxwood ball.  Very French / European.

Residents of this town really believe in the use of terracotta roof tiles!  They should, they last for many many years, and are very tolerate to the environment.

This French designed home has a great couryard.  There appears to be no landscaping in the front other than the terracotta planters.  In addition to the planters, this house really has it going on.  A beautiful stone exterior home, with light blue shutters that are functional.  I also like the small oval window on the second floor, as well as the large square window with copper roof.  I can only assume this large window is in front of a gorgeous staircase.

Another traditional use of terracotta, but in a round ball planter.

Terracotta is a great material to use for your planters, so get out there and start planting!  As always, hope you continue to follow along as we build and share our French Inspired Home designed by Jack Arnold.

Hope your day makes you smile!

-Rob and Tonya