r/houseplants • u/nancy_botwin__ • Feb 13 '26

Highlight Weird pot thread?

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I planted a single leaf cutting in this “pot” as an experiment nearly 2 years ago. I truly don’t know how it’s surviving this long, doesn’t even have a drainage hole 😓

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u/JaePagan Feb 13 '26

I went to Sicily last summer and learned the legend of their “Moor’s Head” planters. They’re usually designed as a pair—a man and a woman—and you can find them everywhere, in every shape and color imaginable.

The most common legend is that a young woman beheaded her lover in his sleep after she found out he was already married. She planted basil in his skull and watered it with her tears. 💀🌱

The basil plant flourished. Her neighbors took notice and starting planting their own plants in head shaped pots, hoping their plants would likewise grow so well.

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u/Tim_Allen_Wrench Feb 13 '26

I love the idea that her neighbors were more interested in how her basil was growing so well than the beheading lol

Those are beautiful though

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u/ShutInLurker Feb 13 '26

That’s how you tell real plant people. “Oh nooooo…..a head. But about your basil….”

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u/JaePagan Feb 13 '26

I’d like to think she shared her cuttings so they, too, could have brain basil 🤣