Garden Urns and Outdoor Urns in Perth

Framing an entry, anchoring a sightline

An urn works hardest where it finishes a view: beside a gate, at the head of a path, or flanking a portico. Proportion and what you stand it on matter as much as the shape itself.

• Entry and gate pairs: A matched pair of classical urns, such as the French Provincial, Classical Urn or URN011B Classical Urn, gives you formal symmetry on limestone plinths or either side of the front door.
• Courtyard and axis centrepieces: Larger vessels like the Anduze Planter or a tall ribbed urn read well from every side, so they suit a path intersection or a rendered courtyard wall.
• Compact outdoor urns: Smaller vessels such as the 620 mm Calabash URN550, the 34 x 24 cm Flared Urn and the 45 x 37 cm Alicante Urn bring a classical silhouette to apartment courtyards and hospitality venues without crowding a small paved area.
• Mobile planting on castors: The URN617 is a 1,700 mm trough planter on concealed heavy-duty castors, so a venue can roll a planted screen aside for a function or a clean-up.

If you need more soil volume for a specimen tree or a large architectural shrub, have a look at our oversize planters collection.

Narrow necks and the slip-pot solution

Traditional urn shapes, particularly the Anduze, Calabash and French Provincial forms, have a wide belly that tapers to a narrower neck. Plant straight into one of those and the root ball spreads inside the belly, where it cannot come back out through the neck without breaking the urn.

For narrow-throated vessels we suggest a nursery slip-pot suspended inside the neck rim. You can lift the plant out cleanly for seasonal rotation, feeding or root trimming, and the clay or composite shell stays intact. Wide-rimmed classical urns are different: plant directly into a free-draining mix over a base layer of blue metal gravel and the roots will do well.

Atlantis clay or marine-grade fibreglass

Which material suits you comes down to where the urn is going, how much weight the floor can take and whether you will ever need to move it.

• Atlantis high-fired terracotta: Kiln-fired clay with sea-weathered mineral patinas. These are heavy vessels, and that weight works in your favour as ballast when the Fremantle Doctor comes through in the afternoon. They sit naturally with our Atlantis planters collection.
• Marine-grade fibreglass: Woven glass fibre finished in two-pack automotive paint. These are the lightest urns in our range, giving you a classical masonry or aged rust look at a fraction of the weight of clay, which counts on a suspended balcony or a roof garden. They are also light enough for two people to carry through a standard garden gate and shift around a patio until the position looks right. The fibreglass urns include classical French, Calabash, ribbed, folded and mobile profiles on concealed castors. The full fibreglass collection shows every profile we hold.

Recirculating fountain and water feature conversions

Many outdoor urns can be plumbed as recirculating water features. We core-drill the base in our Malaga workshop and fit an internal riser, so water rises to the neck and runs evenly down the textured outside into a concealed underground reservoir. If you would rather buy a finished unit, browse our water features collection.

To work out how much potting mix your chosen urn will take, use our potting mix calculator.

Come and see the urns at Malaga and we will talk through shape, plinth height and planting with you. We deliver across the Perth metropolitan area and can help with freight to regional WA, colour match fibreglass finishes in Dulux Weathershield at our Malaga workshop, and visit site on larger residential and commercial projects.

Common questions

How do I plant into an urn with a narrow neck?

Use a plastic slip-pot that sits inside the rim rather than filling the urn with mix. In shapes like the Anduze or Calabash, a root ball that spreads into the wide belly cannot come back out through the neck without breaking the urn. With a slip-pot you lift the plant out for repotting, feeding or root trimming and drop it straight back in.

How do Atlantis clay urns handle windy Perth conditions?

They are heavy, with thick walls and a low centre of gravity, so the weight of the urn itself does the work. They hold their place in wind-exposed courtyards, on coastal verandas and out on open lawn through the strong afternoon sea breeze.

Can outdoor urns be converted into fountains?

Yes. Both Atlantis terracotta and fibreglass urns can be core-drilled and plumbed as recirculating fountains. Water is pumped up through an internal standpipe, bubbles over the rim and runs down the fluted or textured outside into a concealed reservoir. We carry out the conversion in our Malaga workshop.

Can garden urns be placed on timber decking or balconies?

Yes. Fibreglass urns are the lightest in our range, which makes them the easy choice on timber decks and balconies, and light enough to reposition later without emptying them. Sit them on pot feet so water drains away freely. Potting mix is much heavier wet than dry, so on a balcony or rooftop check the floor rating before you fill a large urn, and on a suspended slab have your builder confirm the load.

What is the advantage of planters with concealed castors?

The URN617, a 1,700 mm trough planter on concealed castors, lets you move a planted screen without emptying it. Hospitality venues use them to reset an outdoor area for events, and at home they let you follow the sun across a patio or courtyard through the seasons.

How do I choose the right pedestal or plinth for a garden urn?

Aim for a plinth height that brings the widest part of the urn, usually the belly, close to eye level as you approach it. Limestone, rendered masonry and precast concrete all suit classical shapes. Keep the top of the plinth wider than the urn foot so the urn sits securely and looks properly supported.