Eco-friendly self-watering planters made by Derbyshire based manufacturer Amberol have helped towns and cities across Belgium bloom throughout the summer while conserving water.

The company’s planters can be found all across Belgium in public spaces, parks and shopping centres, helping to create eye-catching floral displays.

Because they only need watering once a week even during the hotter months, councils and horticulturalists in Belgium have saved time and money on upkeep. The containers are made from recyclable polyethylene.

Xavier Duhem, sales manager at Sanac, Amberol’s distributor in Belgium, says cities across the country are now opting for self-watering planters. “They realise that not only do they create the very best conditions for growing flowers and edible plants, but they also reduce the need for maintenance and conserve water all at the same time. Our customers have used them to create some truly stunning displays.”

The containers can be found from La Roche in the west to La Louvière in the south east and Koksijde by the North Sea. Regions of the Belgian capital, Brussels, most notably Anderlecht and Uccle, have also been brightened up by displays in Smberol products.

The self-watering system uses a built-in water reservoir with a series of capillaries to ‘suck up’ the water, which is dispersed via an expander pad. Because the water is stored under the soil, it doesn’t evaporate, whatever the weather conditions.

“The most popular products this year include the cup and saucer hanging baskets and the tiered planters which our customers like because they are easy to plant and have a large water reservoir, making them really easy to maintain even when the weather is hot and dry as it has been this year,” adds Xavier.

Sanac’s largest customer in Belgium is Bota-Concept, which offers turnkey projects to cities aiming to increase the amount of green space in urban areas. The self-watering tiered fountains and floor standing planters are popular amongst the company’s city council clients, with around 200 self-watering containers supplied this year, including 150 tiered beehive planters.

Bertrand Pettiaux from Bota-Concept said: “We plant up the tiered fountains and floor standing planters in our nursery and send them out once they are fully grown.  We have had up to 45 degrees in the nursery early this summer and even in these extreme conditions we only watered them once a week.”

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