I have a confession to make. Because I write the question of the week for the Hive Garden community challenge, I'm often asking a question that I can write about - is that cheating? However, inspiration has to come from somewhere, right?

Today we went POT shopping - nope, not the stuff you smoke. Generic garden centres (like Bunnings) and gift shops sell really expensive pots and they're all the same, and you see them in everyone's gardens which is a little boring. My sister told me about a pot shop in Footscray, Melbourne, owned by a Vietnamese couple, which had a huge selection.

As we were going up to see my son nearby, we dropped in for a quick look, which ended up being 45 minutes, and we ended up running late. This meant we didnt even properly go around the entire place, so we'll have to go back!

We spent a lot of time deciding, but thought it was best we stuck to purpose - we wanted a pot for the front of the house to liven up that dull brown '80's brick. For that, I wanted white - any colour would be too much, though they had some absolutely gorgeous planters of all different colours.

There were also a lot of plants around that he'd created topiary out of, some very large conifers in pots, and lots of succulents. They'd made a block in an industrial estate really quite charming.

The ones we got are kinda cool, almost looking like dried lava - certianly a natural stone look. They were way cheaper than we'd find in the usual nurseries so we got two for what we'd normally buy one for. Keep reading to the end of the post to see what we ended up with - and where we put them, AND what we planted in them!

Of course, we then needed something to put IN the pots! We stopped past a succulent nursery in Lara - it's been there for years, but it's shutting down over the next year or so and everything was half price. OMFG - party!

The place is really gorgeous and lots to see - boab trees, indoor plants, natives, and of course lots and lots of cactus. It's a really cool place to visit and it's a real shame it's shutting down.

I wish I had more photos for you but it had been a big day and we were keen to get home. Still, we had heaps of fun together, and it felt like the early days of our relationship finding things to 'make house'.

We were pretty chuffed with the look at the front of the house - less dull that's for sure. It was my job to hose it all down, which really is my favourite job when you create a new space in the garden. My Dad used to do it so I think I get it off him.

@ryivhnn - this is what I meant by ugly brown brick!

**This week's garden theme was 'pot' - you can find it here. And yes, you can write about the other kind of pot if you like!

With Love,

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