What’s wrong with planters?
- Kim Thornton
- Jul 3
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 11
Yes, I do have a bit of a chip on my shoulder regarding planters. On my travels around London, I see many collapsed planters made out of soft wood or planters containing dead stalks and litter. It’s become a bit of a grim hobby photographing them.
A lot of urban greening schemes rely heavily on planters, not surprisingly because they are a fast intervention and easy to install. Sometimes, it just isn’t practical to take up paving. And some greenery is better than none.
But a planter’s life span is limited if there is no provision for maintenance and if they aren’t built with materials that last. They are notoriously hard to maintain if planted traditionally with plants that need regular water. The hot weather of 2025 is demonstrating how labour-intensive it is to look after planters when there is no rain (the drought of 2022 was also a cautionary tale). Furthermore, as parts of the country head into hose pipe bans this summer, it is becoming a consideration to be water wise. Possibly it’s time for us to shift our perception of the UK as a country with plenty of rain.
Planters can be done in a more sustainable way, and they do have their place when there isn’t much space for greenery or the funds to take up tarmac. So, on the industrial estate in West Norwood, we’re trialling using gravel and planting drought tolerant plants to see how they cope with minimal maintenance. We’ve been inspired by the gravel garden at the iconic Beth Chatto Gardens in Essex.
Watch this space for our progress….
For further info:
The Beth Chatto Gardens are running their own experiment with planters, testing different growing mediums and irrigation. They’ve shared a handy plant list…
