Terrific Terracotta Tipsy pots for the garden
This is one of our easiest, most delightful projects for the garden. Pick a spot on the garden where you need a vertical element. Visitors to your garden will wonder how you did this! Included are tips and tricks fr success!
Jean Morrow says, “The first pot rests at an angle in the soil and then the remaining post rest on the rim of the one beneath it…easy!”
Donna Neeley shows us the supplies needed for tipsy pots
How to assemble a tipsy pot:
- Clear a spot in the garden cover the ground with newspaper with a layer of mulch on top to suppress weeds.
- Drive a 60″ long piece of 1/2″ re-rod or rebar into the soil one or two feet. It’s important to pound the rod into the soil enough so that the rod will support the weight of the pots when full. A heavier pipe can be used for larger projects such as Annie’s Galvanized Tipsy Pots.
- Place a 12″ round clay pot at the base, threading the re-bar through the drainage hole. Fill the pot full of soil at this point so that the next pot has something to sit on. Press the soil down and water it in to settle the soil.
- Use 10″ pots for the remainder of the tower or a succession of smaller and smaller pots. For the second pot, use small blocks of wood or rocks to brace the bottom of it at the right angle. the next pots pots will have their bottoms resting on the rim of the pot below,…tip them each at a different angle as you thread them on the rod.
- Make sure the top of the stake is hidden by the top pot.
- Leave a space at the top of each pot so that when you water, the soil does not run out of the pot along with the water. Mulch to preserve moisture. When watering, water slowly, allowing the water to be absorbed by the soil before adding more water.
Donna Neeley’s finished tipsy pot
Sue Langley’s tipsy pot
This is the little tipsy pot display I made for the nursery with a four foot high metal stake,…violas and the spring green is golden oregano.
Sonja Tilley’s tipsy pot
Sonja Tilley says, “This is my version of “tipsy” pots. I painted the pots last year, and I like the weathered look. Rosemary, lavender, and basil. I also have a few perennials squeezed in there…cactus, daisies, shamrock. The key to one this high is a nice and tall piece of 6 foot tall rebar…pounded solid in the ground. Then the rest comes along very easily!”
Colleen Starnes says, “My first garden…inspired by all my new friends at Flea Market Gardening.”
Tipsy watering tips
Tracy Miller’s Tipsy Pot tip
Tracy Miller’s helpful tip for Tipsy pots:
“I was having trouble with my tipsy pots, the water was running out too fast because of the angle of the pots, and the dirt wanted to go with the water. My plants would not flourish and looked horrible. I cut a 2 liter coke bottle in strips and placed it down in the dirt in the rim of each pot. It is clear and cannot be seen and it helps the water to stay in the pot long enough for it to actually soak into the dirt. Now my plants have really taken off and look great.”
Susan E Atkinson‘s U-Neek tipsy pot
Susan E Atkinson, from Seasonal Expressions Art, says, “The garden stack pot with a twist. I used old kitchen items and house plants so I can bring it in and enjoy it this winter. The topsy turvy planter is made out of old kitchen items. Top to bottom: Foley Food Mill, fryer basket, colander, sauce pot.
The base is a wreath stand that has an upright post to hang a wreath on. I punched a hole in the bottom of each container and threaded them onto the post, cocking them at angles as I went. In the bottom sauce pan I used e6000 to seal a small plastic cup over the opening and fed the post up through it so excess water wouldn’t leak out of the sauce pan.”
Use a shepherd hook for a new look
Annie Downs’ tipsy pot
Annie Downs used something different as a stake,…she tells us, “My husband made me tippy pots! This is the third year using them and I’m still experimenting with different flowers in them. We used a shepherds hook! We heated up the top with a torch to bend it just enough to fit the pots on to. The holes in the bottom of the pot are the right size already. Put a few flat rocks on the bottom pot to keep it steady.”
Now that you’ve done one,…move on to the fun variations!
Easy Project: Garden stack-a-pots
I hope you try this easy project, all you need is a stake, some pots and a little imagination! ~~ Sue
4 Comments
Thank you for all your great posts. I find myself coming back to your sight time and time again. Love it!!
I am loving all of the tipsy pots. Those are some very creative women and I loved seeing all the different flowers and plants used in the pots. I am still waiting to build one with my old hammered copper pots but have so many projects that I just have not gotten around to it yet. What a difference Flea Market Gardening has made in my life. Such great members and so much talent in this group. You never cease to amaze me day after day!
Love all the tipsy pot planters. I personally have been collecting galvanized wash tubs and buckets the last couple months to make something similar to Annie’s Galvanized Tipsy Pots. With my tall house I felt I need something bigger and I hope to work on my galvanized tipsy pot planter nect weekend. I can hardly wait. Myra
I love my tipsy pots. I think the wind and cold got my succulents that did well a winter ago. I wil find something to plant them up again !