By Nadia Arumugam |

Colorful, Artisanal, Beautiful: Traditional Planters from Mexico

When Charity told me she had online shopping baskets brimming with juvenile trees just waiting for her to hit that “Proceed to Checkout” button, I thought her a little, curious. But much has changed, and it’s really all due to my impending first crop of indoor-growing vegetables. Two days ago, with Charity’s expert guidance, I planted a varietal of deep orange, complex flavored and utterly delicious carrots called Mokum. They’re a gift for my husband for our first anniversary – the full story on this later (shhhh….I’m hiding the planter in the closet when he gets home from work until the big day on Sunday).  Since then, I’ve tried desperately hard to engage my attention, discipline and focus in service of my daytime job. Unfortunately, though not altogether unpredictably, serious journalistic endeavors aren’t nearly as fun as sifting through the internet looking for interesting, exotic companions for my carrots, and pretty vessels to house them in.

My current container favorites are Bambino Baby Eggplants, Alpine Mignonette Strawberries -a compact French strawberry varietal with diminutive, sweet, vanilla-flavored berries, Bolivian Rainbow Bird chili peppers – for spectacular kaleidoscopic, christmas lights effect, and Thai Prik Chi Faa chili peppers – for serious cooking.

As for those pretty vessels, I am utterly enamored by traditional Mexican Talavera clay planters. This artisanal pottery was first introduced into the city of Puebla in Mexico in the 16th-Century by Spanish settlers. The Spanish brought over master craftsmen from the city of Talavera De La Reyna in the province of Toledo to the New World to adorn the plethora of churches, monasteries and convents that they had erected. Puebla continues to produce Talavera pottery today using those same traditional craft techniques, and certain factories have been assigned official designations from the Mexican Government, as a stamp of their authenticity and provenance.

The original signature look of  Talavera pottery was intricate blue designs on white. The  blue came from cobalt, a rare, costly mineral which had to be shipped from Africa, and so conveyed a certain prestige. Over time more colors were introduced and the pottery took on a much more vibrant aesthetic. Luckily for me, and for you too,  genuine Talavera is relatively easy to come by via online retailers, who offer a huge variety of planters, vases, jars and pots in a plethora of different sizes. A medium-sized  flower pot will set you back $30- $40, and a medium sized window box about $60 – $70.

These  colorful, clay vessels will bring bright, rustic charm to the most somber urban dwelling, and because they come in an array of colors and designs, you can choose a planter, or ahem…multiple planters, that complement your color scheme at home. Our apartment has a foundation of earthy tones, with smatterings of red, a hint of yellow, and touches of green. With this in mind, I’m opting for three of the planters on the top right in the graphic below for my berries, eggplants and chilis. Of course, I have no idea whether the plants I’ve chosen will actually thrive on the sunny window ledge inside my apartment until I hit my gardening guru, Charity, for her insights – until then I’ll continue to fantasize. Stay tuned for news on how my indoor garden develops!

All from TelaveraPotteryStore.com

These are the 3 best online stores I found for Talavera planters that had the best selections:

http://talaverapotterystore.com
http://www.directfrommexico.com/talavera-pottery–flower-pots.html
http://www.talaveraemporium.com/talavera-garden-decoration.html

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5 Comments

  1. Cathy Moore | November 10th, 2011

    I am looking for the beautiful colored mexican pottery the large size to put a dwarf lime tree in we are in San Diego California, so do you know of any where locally I may find this pottery? I love the pictures you show as well. Thank you in advance

    Cathy
    San Diego CA

  2. Nadia | November 13th, 2011

    Hi Cathy – so glad you found what you were looking for in this post. I recently bought a small planter online from talaverapotterystore.com. I know they are not local to you, but they ship in a very timely fashion, and as far as my experience with them went, they did a great job. Nadia

  3. sonny castillo | November 26th, 2011

    Beautiful

  4. Jenna | September 5th, 2012

    Hello, I wonder if you can help me. I am looking for mosaic mirror planters from Mexico. I have photos of them but am unsure of where they come from or how to locate and buy them. Any help would be gratefully received!

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