• United States, early 20 th century, reinforced concrete

Eric Ellis Soderholtz originally made a pair of these planters for the Maine home of famed gardener and landscape designer Beatrix Farrand. Made of reinforced concrete, the pot weighs 190 pounds!

Artist/supplier: Lunaform of Maine, United States

• England, late19thcentury, lead

The Victorians experimented with all sorts of aterials to make their planters and flowerpots. Lead is a traditional garden material that was easily cast with the all-over patterns Victorians admired.

Artist/supplier: Unknown

• Italy, c. 1820, terracotta

The Agresti pot is a classic Italian design, probably created during the golden period of Tuscan flowerpot production (1820-1830). This design was used in the late 19th century at Biltmore Estate Gardens in Asheville, North Carolina.

Artist/supplier: Seibert & Rice, U.S. (handmade in Italy)

• United States, early 20 th century, reinforced concrete

American sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), best known for his statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, studied art in Florence, Italy. He designed these restrained, classical planters while creating Chesterwood, his summer home in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts.

Artist/supplier: Historic Chesterwood, United States

• France, 17 th century, oak & cast iron

Jean de la Quintnie (1626-1688), gardener to Louis XIV, is credited with designing the solid oak orange tree tub, which then was improved upon during the time of Napoleon I, when the corner posts were replaced with iron. The ingenious design allows for each side to be individually removed so that the tree's roots and soil can be dressed without having to remove the entire tree from the tub.

Artist/supplier: Jardin du Roi Soleil, France

United States, 20 th century, dry-cast limestone

To create this contemporary planter, the shape of the 19th-century Prairie Planters was combined with a terracotta detail from a Louis Sullivan building.

Artist/supplier: Longshadow Planters, United States

• Italy, 20 th century, terracotta

In Italy, these rectangular planters are used like "Jersey barricades" in the United States. Planted with boxwood or flowers, they mark the boundaries of a restaurant's outdoor seating area, or sourround a swimming pool.

Artist/supplier: CollezioneUSA, Italy

• Italy, 19 th century, terracotta

This beautiful pot was made using plaster molds that date back to the heyday of Italian flowerpot design, 1820 through 1840. Note the depth and detail of the ornament and how the entire surface of the pot is considered.

Artist/supplier: Seibert & Rice, U.S. (handmade in Italy)

• United States, mid-19 th century, salt-glazed stoneware with sgraffito and cobalt decoration.

Attributed to the Sanderson family, makers of fancy flowerpots in Milwaukee in the 1840s, the original of this extraordinary pot is the only known surviving example of a 19th-century stoneware Wisconsin flowerpot.

Artist/supplier: Joel Huntley, Wisconsin Pottery, United States

• Italy, 19 th century, terracotta

This 19th-century Italian pot displays the Victorian love of all-over design. The shell motif is reminiscent of folk objects made by sailors and encrusted with exotic shells.

Artist/supplier: Seibert & Rice, U.S. (handmade in Italy)

• United States, late 18 th century, wood & iron

The fruit tree box was used on 18th- and 19th-century American estates such as Mount Vernon. The raised base allows for rods or trollies to be slid underneath so that the heavy, tree-filled tubs can be easily moved. Before this type of box, trees were usually planted in half barrels.

Artist/supplier: Munder-Skiles; United States