How To Use Pottery to Elevate Your Outdoor Decor

The tradition of pottery dates back to prehistoric times, and today, pottery is trendy for both decorations and as an art form. Many people have fallen in love with pottery’s elegant beauty for everything from dishware to interior design. It’s also a fantastic way to add character and vibrant colors to your yard. Learn all the types and uses for pottery in the backyard and how to create an enchanting, greenery-filled landscape with ceramic planters.

Types of Pottery

One of pottery’s most popular uses is in outdoor and indoor planters and vases. With so many ways to turn clay into something attractive and useful, pottery comes in various shapes, sizes and materials:

Shapes

Since pottery is either sculpted by hand or made with pour-in molds, it can form almost any shape imaginable. When it comes to planters, you’ll find plenty of popular shapes, including:

• Round: Round planters include any planter with a circular opening at the mouth. They can be cylindrical, tapered, olive-shaped, tall or stout. Some round pots have a rim, and others have none.
• Square: A square pot has a square opening at the top. It can form a vertical prism or a cube shape. Like round pots, they can be tapered or straight, and some even have twisted or curved sides.
• Oblong: Long, rectangular planter pots are usually window boxes and railing planters. Some window and railing planters take the shape of ovals or include more decorative shapes. They hang off of windows or railings with special hooks.
• Low bowl: A popular type of round pot is the low bowl. This round, short pot looks like a saucer.
• Urn: Sometimes called a statue planter, urns are especially ornamental. They may have a square or round tapered base with a bowl or chalice-shaped cavity on top where the plant goes. They often look like oversized goblets.

Sizes

Landscape pottery can have nearly any size. Since it’s primarily used as planters, outdoor pottery does have some standard sizes that correspond with typical plant sizes. These sizes break down into a few categories, such as:

• Small: Small pots are less than 8 inches tall or 8 inches in diameter.
• Medium: The next size up, medium pots can be anywhere from 8 inches-16 inches high and wide.
• Large: For even bigger plants, choose a large pot anywhere from 16 inches-24 inches tall or in diameter.
• Extra large: Any pot wider or taller than 24 inches is extra large.

Materials

The word “ceramic” refers to a class of material that’s soft when wet and permanently hardens with heat. Technically, everything from glass to cement is considered a ceramic material. Even clay pottery can form different forms of ceramic. 

Earthenware is a ceramic that fires at low temperatures, like the classic terra cotta garden planter. Stoneware is pottery that uses mid- or high-firing course-grained clay, and porcelain comes from fine-grained, high-firing white clay. Accordingly, pottery comes in many materials and can even feature a blend of several materials, including:

• Terra cotta: Traditional, unglazed reddish-brown pots are terra cotta clay. Terra cotta is used in everything from patio tiles to traditional mission-style clay tile roofs. While terra cotta is beloved for its brown and rust coloration, the material is brittle and can break quicker than some other clay pottery.
• Glazed ceramic: Ceramic clay pottery is denser and less porous than terra cotta, making it more durable. Ceramic pots are always glazed, which gives them an attractive, glossy appearance.
• Fiberglass: Fiberglass is a synthetic composite material that features thin glass fibers held together with resin. Another name for fiberglass is glass-reinforced plastic. Fiberglass pottery can’t be handmade like a clay pot or mug. Instead, it starts with resin poured into a mold, with sheets of fiberglass layered on top. The fiberglass and resin warm and harden to form the pottery. The result is a nonporous, durable and lightweight material.
• Fiberclay or fiberstone: Fiberclay or fiberstone pottery is closer to what we think of as traditional pottery compared to fiberglass. Instead of reinforcing plastic resin, the pottery makers start with clay or finely ground stone and strengthen it with fiberglass.
• Concrete composite: Concrete is another pottery material that can’t be formed on a potter’s wheel. Like fiberglass composites, it requires a mold. The wet concrete mixture is usually hand-blended and includes both color pigments and other additives.

Uses for Pottery

If you love the look of clay, you might be wondering how exactly to incorporate it into your outdoor decor. Since ceramics can form nearly any shape, home decorators have discovered many creative and attractive uses for pottery, including:

1. Planters

2. Decorative Bowls

Ceramic bowls have many landscaping and decorative uses. Fill some bowl-shaped pottery with natural river stones, pine cones, citronella candles, fruits or any number of decorative elements to bring your backyard landscape to life. You can also put them on your patio’s coffee table to add some hominess.

Add a fountain pump attachment, and a decorative bowl becomes a do-it-yourself (DIY) water feature. Crafty DIY-ers have also used ceramic potting bowls to make trendy tabletop fire bowls, the perfect miniature firepit for a tiny backyard oasis.

3. Vases

If you’re looking to spruce up your patio, porch or kitchen table, pottery also makes a great vase. Small jar- and cone-shaped planter pots without drainage holes can easily double as vases for your fresh-cut flowers. Many ceramicists also make pieces intended as vases. They look beautiful indoors and out to tie together your patio furniture, end tables or countertops.

4. Chimeneas

How to Use Pottery in Your Landscape Design

With a little planning, pottery lets you embellish your outdoor property effortlessly. Whether you’re an amateur gardener or professional landscaper, you can create an attractive landscape pottery design with a few well-placed planters. Here’s how to decorate with pottery and create a visually striking yard:

1. Decide on a Color Palette

The key to cohesion in landscaping design is color. While you don’t need all your pottery to be the same shade, you want each piece to work well with one another. Pottery comes in a rainbow of colors thanks to the many pigments and glazes available. Deciding on a color scheme before you shop for landscape pottery in San Diego can help you narrow down your options at the store.

As you consider color, your first choice is between bright hues or calming neutrals. Both have their place in landscape design, so it depends on your color preferences and the plants you want to highlight. Green vegetation is usually easy to match. It goes well with vivid turquoises, sunny yellows and most colors in between. If you’re growing flowering plants, you might consider how the pot’s color will look against the petals.

Pottery with neutral tones ranges from whites and creams to slate grays and blacks. It also includes earthy tones like terra cotta, chocolate and caramel. The advantage of neutral colors is their seamlessness and ability to match any environment or host any color plant.

Another consideration with your pottery color choices is your home’s exterior. You likely don’t want to match the exact colors of your house, but it is helpful to tie them together. If your home has warmer colors, you might pair it with a brown or burgundy pot. A darker or lighter shade can provide some nice contrast to the surroundings.

2. Find Your Personal Style

Another thing you’ll notice when shopping for planters and outdoor pottery is they come in many styles. You might find two pots in the size you need, one with decorative ornamentation and another with a sleek, unadorned look. Which pairs better with your backyard and taste? Only you can decide. Typically, round pots look more traditional, while square and rectangular pots complement contemporary architecture.

You get to decide whether you want all your pots to be the same shape and color, or if you want to add variation by selecting a few different colors or shapes that contrast. Also, consider whether you prefer the matte look or a glossy glaze.