Thinking of Containers - and Shopping

 One of the favorite past times of gardeners in the cold winter months is shopping.  Seeds, tools, seed starting supplies... live plants to be shipped later.  

One of the containers that I am looking forward to most this year is the shade container I had by our firepit last year.  It was all Coleus that I started from seeds.  Cheap plants!  And I still have seeds, so this year they are technically "Free Plants".  I love the palette of red, black and chartreuse.  They got pretty big and I think adding some kind of support in there would be a good idea.  That way when they get too big late in the season I can use string to hold them all together.  I pinched these back many times earlier in the season.  That only encouraged them.  They are the "Giant Exhibition Mix" from Harris Seeds.

(that is a 16" container under there)

Last year this planter was in the spot indicated by the center arrow.  And I want to do two more in the spots indicated by the other arrows.

The containers I am using are 16" Bombay planters that Walmart used to sell.  I have a pretty good selection of them and wish I had more.  If I ever see them again I will buy as many as I can haul away!  They have held up so well.  I have them in four colors and each year I clean them well and store them away.  They are just as shiny today as the day I bought them.

The Bombay containers back in 2016

So for the center support I have had my eye on this Verona Obelisk from Gardener's Supply.  A couple of months ago I got it half off.  They are normally over priced at over $60. Yikes! I thought $30 something was a great deal.  When I received it I wished I had ordered more.  It is pretty well made and it even folds flat to store. Technically, it is a flimsy little thing.  But it is a heavy, well made, flimsy little thing.

Then one day, as I was shopping around, I found these at the At Home website.

For $14.99!

They are a similar size, but just a bit shorter.  They are made the same, but the centers are actual circles instead of ovals.  I bought two.  Even with shipping they were an excellent value compared to the Gardener's version.  

This is what they look like side by side.  I will use the taller one in the center container, and the shorter ones on each side.  

I can't wait for the day when I can pot these up.