Episode 127: sustainability part three - pots
Hannah Morrow’s beautiful pots inspired by David Hockmey’s pool paintings. Take a look at more of Hannah’s work at her website.
Subscribe to On The Ledge via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Player FM, Stitcher, Overcast, RadioPublic and YouTube.
Transcript
Choosing the right pot for your plant is a matter of aesthetics, but these days as plastic pollution comes under the spotlight, are there any alternatives to the seemingly ubiquitous plastic pot? In this week’s show I look at the alternatives to plastic, offer up some tips on using cachepots, and talk to ceramic designer Hannah Morrow about her collection of pots inspired by a set of David Hockney paintings. Plus I answer a question about variegated Monsteras, and we meet listener Ash.
Want more on sustainability?
Read my top ten tips for sustainable houseplants
Listen to the other episodes in my sustainability series
Check out the notes below as you listen…
Hannah Morrow’s Jupiter range of pots. Photograph: HforHannah.com.
Cachepots are useful covers for a less attractive inner pot - usually they don’t have drainage holes, but have you seen the video of people making holes in cachepots using a bowl of water? Here’s an example…
Put a layer of gravel or expanded clay pebbles in the bottom of cachepots so that if you leave water in the bottom after watering, the inner pot is held above the water level. It can also help raise humidity around the plant. Do put a cork mat under pots to protect furniture though.
Plastic pots cannot always be recycled as black plastic is generally not picked up by the scanners at recycling centres. If you do live in an area where plant pots can be successfully recycled, make sure they are clean otherwise they will be rejected.
Try giving away plastic pots to community gardens or see if your garden centre offers a takeback scheme. Keep a few for the On The Ledge sowalong!
Terracotta pots are great for cacti and succulents as they wick water away from roots.
Terracotta saucers are often porous - spray them with an acrylic spray like this to make them waterproof.
Check out Posipots - cardboard pots that offer an alternative to plastic for garden centres.
Bamboo pots work really well and last longer than you’d think - here are the Haxnicks ones I mention.
This week’s guest ceramicist Hannah Morrow’s pots are online at Hforhannah.com. She was inspired by David Hockney’s pool paintings. She’s also on Instagram.
Never heard of West German Lava pots? Here’s the skinny…
Question of the week
Camilla got in touch to ask what kind of variegated Monstera she has. There are two types of variegated swiss cheese plants available right now: there’s a borsigiana type, ‘Albo Variegata’, which is a vining type with quite like internodal spaces, whereas ‘Thai Constellation’ has much shorter internodal spaces so ends up looking bushy rather than growing tall. ‘Thai Constellation’ also has more creamy or yellow patches whereas ‘Albo Variegata’’s variegation is more of a bone white.
Want to ask me a question? Email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. The more information you can include, the better - pictures of your plant, details of your location and how long you have had the plant are always useful to help solve your issue!
HOW TO SUPPORT ON THE LEDGE
Contributions from On The Ledge listeners help to pay for all the things that have made the show possible over the last few years: equipment, travel expenses, editing, admin support and transcription.
Want to make a one-off donation? You can do that through my ko-fi.com page, or via Paypal.
Want to make a regular donation? Join the On The Ledge community on Patreon! Whether you can only spare a dollar or a pound, or want to make a bigger commitment, there’s something for you: see all the tiers and sign up for Patreon here.
The Crazy Plant Person tier just gives you a warm fuzzy feeling of supporting the show you love.
The Ledge End tier gives you access to two extra episodes a month, known as An Extra Leaf, as well as ad-free versions of the main podcast on weeks where there’s a paid advertising spot, and access to occasional patron-only Zoom sessions.
My Superfan tier earns you a personal greeting from me in the mail including a limited edition postcard, as well as ad-free episodes.
If you like the idea of supporting On The Ledge on a regular basis but don't know what Patreon's all about, check out the FAQ here: if you still have questions, leave a comment or email me - ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. If you're already supporting others via Patreon, just click here to set up your rewards!
If you prefer to support the show in other ways, please do go and rate and review On The Ledge on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen. It's lovely to read your kind comments, and it really helps new listeners to find the show. You can also tweet or post about the show on social media - use #OnTheLedgePodcast so I’ll pick up on it!
CREDITS
This week's show featured the tracks Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, Samuel Corwin - Flute and Drum, Rishikesh, Chiefs by Jahzzar. and Enthusiast by Tours.
Logo design by Jacqueline Colley.