All About Gardening Urns

Enliven your space with garden urns

History in the classical garden

The origin of garden urns begins long before the ancient gardens of Mesopotamia and Egypt. The Greeks first used garden urns for practical purposes; a lack of water and rocky soils led them to use huge terracotta urns for plantings. Excavations around temples in Athens found rows of terracotta urns inserted into the ground where shrubs were planted.

The Greeks of the Classical Age used finely decorated garden urns in terracotta, marble, and bronze in their gardens. Almost all of Europe borrowed this practice, from Rome to Constantinople. During the Dark Ages, history tells us that their use fell out, but no one really knows why. In Western Europe, the rediscovery of classical garden urns occurred in the 15th century with the uncovering of examples in excavations from places such as in the ruins of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli outside Rome. Raphael and other Renaissance artists used garden urns in their paintings.

This practice expanded to France, as the French Kings were eager customers for new and antique garden urns. Louis XVI, the Sun King, used many garden urns - large and small - to adorn the gardens of his new Chateau of Versailles.

In the mid to late 18th century, classical garden urns became an essential part of gardens all over Europe. The advent of inexpensive examples in cast iron greatly expanded the potential market for garden urns and they were to be seen almost every middle class garden by the mid 19th century.

Benefits of garden urns

Garden urns create a focal point for your garden - adding height and classic elegance.

Placing a garden urn in a grouping of planters provides instant height.

Garden urns are available in a variety of materials such as terracotta, concrete and lightweight resin, or fiberglass.

Considerations:

Concrete and terracotta garden urns can be very heavy when fully planted.

Check to make sure your garden urn has adequate drainage holes.

Wind exposure can be a consideration in positioning your garden urn. If your container garden is exposed to high winds, select a heavy material such as stone or terracotta.

When planning your container garden, don't forget to create a special place for garden urns to add a dramatic or elegant focal point, or to add height or variety to a planter arrangement on your patio, balcony, deck, or landscaped area.

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