TREASURE HUNT

When is a flower pot not a flower pot?

Well, at my house, it’s when a flower pot holds pens and pencils on the desk beside the telephone. Or, a planter keeps Q-tips or cotton balls handy on the vanity in the bathroom.

I grew up in a house with a kitchen windowsill full of quirky little character planters. Small African violets, cacti and other house plants that were planted in pots shaped like animals, or decorated with Pixies or song birds, bloomed and thrived in the sunlight.

I still have a few. I kept my favorite pots, but because I’m not a house-plant person, nothing survives very long on my windowsill. So, rather than just putting the pots away in the garage or under the sink, I pulled them out and put them to work in other ways.

Now they hold children’s paint brushes and markers, or serve as a toothbrush holder in a bathroom.

Colorful, often handmade, pots and planters are inexpensive and easy to find at garage sales and flea markets. Even at antique malls and shops they are affordable.

Collectors often look for specific makers or types. Pots made by McCoy and Shawnee, or items that are marked “California” or “USA” which come in a rainbow of colors, fetch higher prices, but unmarked look-alikes are cheap and plentiful.

I use funky little planters all over the house. They make great containers for odds and ends, they’re fun to look at and they’re usually a bargain.

Some are special because I remember them from my childhood, others just caught my eye.

If, like me, you’re the kind of horticulture-challenged person who can’t remember to water the ivy or deadhead the begonias, but you admire pretty little vintage planters and flower pots, why not skip the philodendron. Just plant something – anything – inside.

The best thing about using vintage flower pots to add a bit of cottage charm to a room is that a green thumb isn’t required.