How to ‘age’ terracotta pots super-fast
Some items look great when they’re box fresh: trainers for best; a white cotton shirt; a linen tablecloth. But when it comes to terracotta pots, I prefer mine a bit beaten up and weathered. Green with mossy softness and washed with powdery white clouds, a patterning called ‘efflorescence’. As terracotta is porous, it allows salts, calcium and other minerals to leach from the soil, fertilisers and water, causing staining to accumulate. Terracotta’s porosity is a good thing. It provides a beneficial environment, allowing moisture to wick and air to circulate around the roots of plants.
Algae and moss add verdancy, usually more prevalent when pots have been left is a shady corner. Personally, I love that look of creeping velvet, just as I like the frosty, salty filigree. But then I even like to see some spattered dirt, a sign plants have had a good soaking from the heavens or hose.
So desirable has this antique look become that authentic old containers are highly sought after. And expensive. It’s also why many companies manufacturing pots give them some faux ageing. However, that knocked about and ever so slightly knackered appearance, ramps up the price.
In order to try to reproduce the shabby-chic look myself, I tried that much-talked about trick of covering them in yogurt to culture some crud but the pots just felt a bit slimy for a while, then flakiness appeared. Plus the process seemed painfully slow. So now, I opt for the ten minute makeover and paint them (the only pots I wouldn’t treat are those destined for edible produce).
Eventually, as your artwork fades (the effects of water-based paints, which I use, won’t last forever) and nature’s hand becomes stronger, the two meet and meld rather wonderfully. When I posted a collection of much-prized pots on Instagram, Diarmuid Gavin commented how much he liked them. I was well chuffed. After all, that’s like Mary Berry complimenting your Lemon Drizzle.
