Before: Crying for our attention.

True gardeners and pseudo-gardeners alike collect pots. 

We get them at the store, filled with something new and different; friends give them to us; friends move away, and we inherit them. These pots tend to be on the smaller side, and since we do not want to throw anything out, they collect.

I started calling these collections โ€œStupid Little Pots.โ€ The reasons are that they are too small to add to your dรฉcor when placed on the ground or patio floor next to a full-size piece of furniture, and they are too small to support a plant in the desert heat.

We need to put many of these pots away. Donate any plastic pots, and only keep those that are truly special to us.

Then take a bakerโ€™s rack or other nice shelving; find a lonely, shaded wall to place it in front of; and create a wall of living art that we can enjoy on a daily basis. The rack to the right looks nice and complete; it no longer says to us, โ€œWe have more work to do.โ€

Marylee is the Desertโ€™s Potted Garden Expert. Email her with comments and questions at potteddesert@gmail.com.