Since it stays so hot so long here (it's warm through October), I decided that I wanted to put in a late-summer crop of greens: "lacinato" kale, "bright lights" chard, and "catalina" spinach. I chose varieties from Renee's Garden that were said to do well in containers, and I got inspiration from our local botanical garden, where they had huge clumps of rainbow chard growing in giant ornamental pots. Then I got it into my head that it would make a fun art project for the girls to each paint one of the terra cotta pots! I thought it would be a good way to add color and incorporate the wonderful whimsy of childhood into the garden. Plus, what great memories for years to come!
The only problem is: how in the world do I go about it? A Google search of "how to paint terra cotta pots" led me to a message board on some garden website with a thread of exactly that subject. The advice was to use a brand called "Patio Paint", which I found at Hobby Lobby, but they apparently sell at Michael's, too (our brand-new Michael's does not open until this fall). After painting, seal it inside and out with a coat of Patio Paint's sealer. Well, Hobby Lobby didn't have the sealer, so I found a brand called "Tree House" which the helpful employee assured me people use to seal painted terra cotta pots. Everything looks okay so far, my only concern is that if I didn't do it right, the paint will peel and not last more than a few seasons. However, there's no way for me to know until it happens.
The girls had a BLAST painting the pots. I pretty much just let them go at it, supervising to make sure no one ate any paint. They're too young now to do any kind of real drawing or pattern, but this is definitely something that we'll do again.
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