Saluting Mediterranean Garden Planters

Tracing garden planters back in time leads to the Greeks and Romans, who filled theirs with flowers to add color to their courtyards and pathways without depleting the water supply, or used them to grow fruit trees that could be moved about according to the outside temperature. The habit caught on in the Mediterranean because planting in pots is a lower-maintenance way to garden, as it makes plants drought tolerant, and ideal for a climate that his dry and hot in the Summer and warm and moist in the Winter. Anyone who has traveled in the South of France or coastal Italy has seen the beautiful citrus and olive trees, and rosemary and lavender bushes in terracotta pots.

Our New Garden Planters

The trio of Cinisi garden planters in a blue drip colorway.

Among our new summer offerings are large and small pots that are dripping with personality, each of which would be right at home in the Mediterranean, or in any garden or patio setting stateside. Beside the large Sicilia up top is one of our Cinisi greenish white planters, the trio of this family also shown below.

The Cinsi garden planters in this image illustrate how each pot will have its own unique personality.

All of these new larger garden planters were inspired by classic shapes that have been staples in European gardens for centuries. The pitting in the terracotta surfaces make the pots feel as if they have been tucked away in the landscape for ions. Veranda magazine captured the spirit of garden planters with equal patina in this fantasy moment: “Mediterranean gardens evoke languid afternoons lounging in the shade, the scent of lavender on the breeze, and the hum of bees tumbling out of flowers…sublime, dreamlike impressions that make visitors want to linger.”

A closeup of the surface of one of our Sicilia planters.

The image above illustrates how distressed the surfaces of our garden planters are—the illusion they are antiques fully realized. Along with the Sicilia and the Cinisi, we have just introduced several colors in a narrower planter called Capaci. We also have several new Faux Bois Planters in medium, extra small, and rectangular, shown below. The flowing twig-like details along their ribbed surfaces were hand-applied by artisans who “sculpt” the concrete over a metal frame to look like a rustic faux-bois artifact.

Our Faux Bois Rectangular Planter is also new this summer.

The Portland finish that settles into the natural crevices brings them the appearance of age that will add a nice hint of texture to indoor or outdoor settings. Ornamented with tree branches, the concrete planters sprouting with plants will fool the eye into thinking these are true antiques. These accessories join the wide array of concrete furniture in this legendary style in our lineup, all of which you can find by simply typing “faux bois” into the search box on our website.

The larger version of the Sicilia is striking in this photo shot at Elm Street Gardens in Sparta, Georgia.

Faux bois has been ever-present in our product offerings for decades, as Suzy Currey explains. She is the co-founder of the company with Robert Currey and mother of our President Brownlee Currey, and was the sole writer and voice for the company for the first twenty years of its existence: “The company's story is one of evolution as well as one of people. It began as a company focused on very proper historic garden furnishings whose seriousness was amusingly enhanced by an entertaining mix of whimsical rustic accessories.”

Shown here with Zazu the Parrot, released this past spring, is one of Brownlee’s Bonsais. Wallpaper provided by Thibault.

As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same, as we are continuing that tradition over thirty years later. Not only have Robert, Suzy, and Brownlee been trendsetters when it comes to garden furnishings and accessories over the decades, they have been avid proponents of gardening—from Robert and Suzy’s efforts at Sparta Gardens to Brownlee’s talent cultivating bonsai. I guess you’d say that digging in the dirt (and potting it) is in the Currey & Company DNA!