If you are shopping for a large decorative or rustic terra cotta urn for your backyard landscape, don’t overlook rain barrels!
There are decorative styles that are specifically designed to beautify your landscaping and home without actually look like they are collecting water. Besides rustic Italian-style urns, there are also Japanese Kyoto barrels, woodgrain wine barrels and even strawberry pots.
In fact, many have planters built right into the top so that you can have natural foliage draping down the sides of your Italian urn and have it completely disguised as a planter. You don’t even have to us it to collect water!
So Why Use a Rain Barrel as a Planter?
Many decorative rain barrels that are designed to look like terra cotta urns, wine barrels or ceramic planters are actually made from a plastic resin. This is a lightweight yet durable material that holds up to cracking, fading and all sorts of weather elements.
Yet, while being strong and sturdy, these giant 40-50 gallon planters weigh only 13-20 pounds! This means that they are easy to move and re-position. (heavy planters have always been a pet peeve of mine when doing garden landscaping).
Furthermore, since these rain barrel gardens contain a built-in top planter, you don’t need to fill the entire urn with soil – or find a smaller container to fit inside it. Everything is self-contained, easy-to-use and ready to go when you buy it.
The Price is Right
On top of all this, you are likely to pay less for one of these decorative rain barrels than you would a heavy ceramic planter that you have to pick up and haul from your local garden center. Most 50-gallon al-in-one containers run around $100-150 (and they usually give you free shipping). This is a great option, and most people don’t even know it exists!
Large urns or ceramic pottery make attractive focal points in a backyard without costing a lot of money. They can add a lot of style to your home while being very low maintenance – and if you decide to use them to collect rainwater as well, they can also be extremely functional and save you money on your water bill.
This video shows the average size of these garden urns and demonstrates how easy they are to use:
This video shows how the Rain Wizard Urn looks in the landscape, fully planted with purple flowers. Keep in mind that your rain barrel does not have to be located against a wall of your home or a gutter downspout unless you decide to use it to harvest rainwater.
The Rain Wizard Rain Barrel Urn comes in 8 different colors, including terra cotta, granite, sandstone, oak and more. It is larger (26″ x 25″ x 36″ tall), so it weighs a little more – 24.5 lbs.
Now, if you want a really big giant garden urn, you can get an 80-gallon monster that is 51″ tall – but it only weighs 27 pounds. You can check out a picture of it here.