My daughter’s pots

My youngest daughter (9yrs) came up to me the other day while I was doing some work with my trees. In her hand she had her pot that she had made at school during their clay section in art class a year or two ago. She handed me the pot and said she wanted me to have it so I could use it with my bonsai and accent planting. Of course there was  no way possible for me to tell her no, and her eyes lit up and a huge smile appeared as I said yes :). I looked the pot over as she walked away just to make certain that I would be able to use it and did a little research on the clay that was used to make the pot. I would feel horrible if I used it and it fell apart.

I found out that they use a standard grey/white earthenware clay for the class. This clay is a simple and more affordable clay compared to a stoneware clay used by professional potters. Nonetheless, the clay still needs to be fired and hardened which gives it durability to the weather and makes it water-resistant. It is very similar to terra-cotta clay that is used extensively in the gardening world, but is harder and more durable. But at the same time, it is more porous than stoneware and the clay will “breathe” more just like terra-cotta. To make it simple…. the pot will work great for an accent plant but I will bring it in over winter just to be safe from any possible damage.

Here is one side of the pot that my youngest daughter made. Of course only being nine she added her only little artwork to the clay by scratching a peace sign in the clay and something else I can’t make out. She made this pot very colorful! 🙂

This side of the pot has her 2 sisters names scratched in it and the great word… daddy 🙂

And here is a view looking into the pot. The little holes that she made unfortunately do not go through entirely at the bottom(one hole on the side does). I was thinking about drilling at least one small drain hole as I do with all pots I get that are hole less but I just couldn’t get a good angle without ruining her name at the bottom underneath. So I think i will choose some sort of succulent to use so the watering will be extremely limited and I will not need a bottom drain hole.

Later that same day my middle daughter (12yrs) approached me as well. She asked if it was true that her little sister gave me her art class pot to use and of course I said yes. She then said “well I think you should use the one I made as well” with a little grin. I went and looked over her pot and decided that I could find some use for it. One of the hardest things in life is for a dad to tell any of his little girls no….. but if u ask my girls they will say I have no problem saying it 😉 LOL

Her pot was made out of the same clay (same school when made) so I knew what to expect for its use since I already did the research from the first pot.

A side profile for my middle daughters pot she gave me. A completely different style from her sisters pot.

Opposite side of pot.

And a view from above. Same issue with no drain hole and no good angle to drill one. Another pot for some type of succulent.

There you have it for my 2 new acquired pots from my daughters.

Sorry I have not been posting much directly concerning bonsai trees lately. I do have some new material I have obtained over the last month or so and will be having lots of bonsai posts in the future. All that has been happening recently is water, water, water, fertilize, water, water, water, fertilize, prune/cutback, water, water……… you get the picture! Nothing exciting and nothing that warrants blog time yet.

As always thanks for reading and following my blog 🙂