What plants for these pots please?

[DingDingTriangle]

Hello keen gardeners, could do with some help filling these pots please!
We bought the pots a few years ago and they've been sitting empty as I'm not sure what plants would look good in them, I think the green colour makes it harder to find plants that will look right... Does anyone have any ideas? They are approximately a foot tall. Happy to plant directly into them or use a plastic pot inside if necessary.
Thanks!

Nice pots

do you want bedding that will last a few months & then you get something new? or a more permanent shrub?

do they have drainage holes?

Will they be placed in a sunny spot or shady?

A word of warning about pots of that shape - if you put something long term in there you may have to break the pot to get it out.

For that reason I would avoid anything expensive like a nice shrub that I might want to eventually plant out.

I would have a clump of ivy spilling out and over, an evergreen fern for some greenery and then rotate some bedding, bulbs or maybe the odd perennial such as a hellebore over winter or hardy geraniums for the summer.

Maybe you could put a grass in one e.g. red barron grass or New Zealand flax, see here www.thespruce.com/ornamental-grasses-for-containers-4141562.

I have pots like this, if I want to mix then I put a small grass/fern type plant in the middle and then around the edge put bulbs for spring which I then change to summer bedding. Ivy also good to add variety/texture etc.

Or you could use them as an outer pot, and find a series of plastic pots that fit in them, then you just switch out the plastic pots when you want to swap in spring bulbs /summer things etc .

I'd put pots inside them - otherwise you'll never be able to repot if you put something permanent in there. Annuals spilling over the top would be fine - or something like an ivy, fern or hosta that you could divide to take out.

They are rather beautiful and i'd be tempted to use them as staments in among other things rather than planting something in them - or put a shallow pot and an ivy in . So the pot stands out. I'd also plant next to something red to make them contrasty.

@TheSpottedZebra

Or you could use them as an outer pot, and find a series of plastic pots that fit in them, then you just switch out the plastic pots when you want to swap in spring bulbs /summer things etc .

This is what I do with a lot of mine. Means you can get a head start on dahlias and the like.

Wow thanks everyone, some really great ideas to consider.

I hadn't thought about the implications of growing something long term in them and I wouldn't want to damage the pots or the plants when it came to removing them so I think using an inner pot is a good tip.

@parietal they do have drainage holes and they could be placed in sun or shade, I haven't got a specific location for them yet so I'm happy to let the plants dictate it.

I think something spiky would be a good contrast to the rotundity of the pots eg a red phormium each in the matching pair.
Conversely, the pot with the thin stripes could have something squishy like a succulent eg a big aloe with a red tint (the shape of the leaf is a bit like the pattern on the other pots).

Unfortunately I'm no gardener, but I just wanted to say I really really REALLY like those pots 😂 great taste op! Post pictures when you decide what's going in them won't you? I'd love to see how they look in the end.

I'd be tempted to put the same plant in all three eg white begonias or pelargonium, or pale pink That would make more of an impact and also ensure the pots themselves took centre stage.

Look on the sarah raven site - she has great ideas for planting up pots but you dont need to buy from her just use her ideas and buy local.

Annuals for summer would be a good idea - they wont put out such strong roots like shrubs or perennials which would make re-potting easier with the shape of the pots.

Where did you get those pots please? They're lovely!

@PaddleBoardingMomma thank you! I will definitely update the post when I've planted them up

@JamMakingWannaBe the pots are from Aylesford Pottery in Aylesford, near Maidstone in Kent.

I quite like the idea of something spiky in the two matching pots, and a plant with a reddish colour sounds good. I'll look up the suggestions and perhaps take a trip to the garden centre this weekend

If you can't find what you're after at your local garden centre, are you within a sensible distance of Architectural Plants? They specialise in plants that make a statement:

www.architecturalplants.com/plants/

I do like your pots, and agree that putting a secondary pot inside is the way to go, so you don't have to ruin them to get a plant out (voice of experience here)

I think grasses would look fantastic. Agree with others about using inner pots.