Last month, I wrote about our pool design process, and received quite a few emails about various details of the landscape. Many of the questions were about the planters that we used, and the thought process behind the plantings that were selected.
Working with my landscape architect and his favorite planter specialist, Russell Gandy of Area Garden and Design Services, we selected the Restoration Hardware Zinc estate planter for the spots on either side of the pool.
We also considered this beautiful lead planter from Authentic Provence, but it simply wasn’t in the budget. Check out their website – they have the most beautiful French, English, and Italian planters. This one is called the Hampshire planter, and is from their English collection.
I wish I had taken a picture of the boxes that the planters arrived in – I had them shipped directly to my house (usually I use a receiver who unpacks and delivers large items), and it was a huge challenge to unpack the planters and get them to the back yard! I ended up borrowing a dolly from my kids’ school, and wheeled the planters to the back. Here is a picture of one of the planters, freshly unwrapped. The zinc is dark right out of the box, however it quickly weathered when exposed to the elements.
Here is a picture of the zinc planter after it was planted. Although it is in the shadow in this picture, you can see that the zinc has already attained a beautiful soft gray patina.
I gave Russell full artistic freedom to put what he wanted in the pots, and he selected babywing begonias, ivy, and Pindo Palm. Russell thought that the beautiful arching feather leaves of the palm would provide a nice element to the yard. One other interesting feature of this type of palm is that it is one of the hardiest of the palms, and can tolerate the winter temperatures of Atlanta.
Here is a long view of the pool with the planters on either side. The planters are visible from just about every room on the main floor of the house, and I think they add a lovely and unexpected element to the yard.
I was pleased to see these same planters were selected for a project that designer and antique store owner Loi Thai used to grace the front steps of a project he recently completed in Washington DC. Click here to see the entire post; Loi’s blog is definitely one of my favorites as it is filled with landscape design, antiques, and beautiful interiors. I love the color that Loi selected for the door, Farrow & Ball's "Blue Gray" #91.
If you ever have any questions, feel free to email me (thingsthatinspire@gmail.com)– often your questions create good fodder for new blog posts!
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