Pottery

When you live in Colorado, you have to appreciate when you can plant anything you want.  Much of what I plant is determined by our lovely clay soils.  Yes, I know there are some things that are great about clay soils but digging in it, is not my favorite thing.  I long to be able to plant things that are just nice to look at or remind me of where I grew up.  Pots are my way of planting things just for fun.

I love pots, there I said it.  It really isn't that hard for me to say in reality.  In fact if you are around me for long, you will find I begin to brag on my pots.  Yes it is true, I think I am slightly addicted to them.  In case you are wanting some of your own, now is the time to buy them.  In the middle of winter, usually I can buy them for half price.  I like them because they are year round eye candy, or at least the kind I buy are.
There are some limitations, yes.  When you are shopping for pots, you have to think about how often you would like to water, what size of plants do you want, what is your weather like and what are your preferences.  In order, here are my suggestions.  I do not like to water very often, so I tend to say bigger is better. This also allows me to plant whatever plants I want, big or small.  I also live in a semi-arid, desert-like, area where we get very little moisture and it gets quite hot.  So I tend to look for glazed pottery with lighter colors.  The darker the colors, the hotter your plants and more distressed they get during the hottest part of the day.  The glazing also prevents moisture loss as well.  The biggest thing for me to look for is a drainage hole, if they don't have one and I can't drill one, I don't buy the pot.  I do have standards, even if the bar is rather low.  And like I said the bigger the better.
My wife limits my intake of pots to one or two a year, but every once in a while, I add more. We often joke that if and when we move, we will need a truck just for my pots.  Some are expensive some are not, but I always have my eyes open for unusual ones.  Right now I am starting the countdown to when I can start planting them.  These pots get filled with a mixture of annuals and perennials.  Some of the plants make it through the cold dry winters but some don't.  No worries. 
One way of saving some when planting in these big pots is to fill the bottom third to half with empty bottles, you know the ones that go in your recycle bin.  Then fill the rest with soil.  It makes the pots lighter, keeps drainage working, and provides much needed air in the soil. 
So my biggest suggestion is: have fun.  Try a new color or size or shape.  I just got two pots for half off at our local nursery that are orange and green.  Now the question is what to fill them with in the spring.  Until then I am wishing you all, happy potting.