Quincy Planter with Tray S

The Quincy Planter with Tray in the small size is 18cm square and 16cm high, in green glazed ceramic with a matching tray. The tray catches excess water, which is what makes it usable indoors. It suits a compact pre-potted plant.

A matching tray is the detail that decides whether a planter can go on furniture. Without one, any pot holding a plant that gets watered will eventually mark a timber surface, and a saucer bought separately never quite matches.

Green glaze on a planter is a bolder choice than it appears, because it competes with the plant. It works when the foliage is dark or variegated enough to separate from it, and it is worth avoiding with a plant whose leaves are the same mid green as the glaze.

At this size it belongs on a windowsill or a shelf rather than as a centrepiece. Small vessels read best in company; a single one on a large table looks like it lost the rest of the group.