Love Ashley Tisdale's French-Inspired Planters? These Budget-Friendly Lookalikes Deliver the Same Charm

Ashley Tisdale now goes by her married name, Ashley French, and it couldn't be more fitting. From her Malibu beach house to her wellness brand Frenshe, almost everything she shares has a chic European feel.

As is so often the case in French garden design, it's relaxed rather than formal, layered rather than polished – and that effortless aesthetic extends outdoors, too... particularly with regards to her choice of planters. Instead of glossy pots or brightly colored containers, the Disney legend leans into weathered terracotta, aged stone and classic Wuthering Heights-esque urns that instantly make a patio or garden feel as though it's been there for decades.

The catch? Well, authentic French terracotta urns, Versailles planters and antique stone containers can cost hundreds – sometimes even thousands – of dollars. Thankfully, though, you don't actually need the real thing to capture the look. And, once I spoke to designers, I realized it's less about buying an expensive planter and more about understanding the handful of design principles that make French-inspired containers feel so timeless...

1. It's About Age, Not Price

The most important thing about nailing Ashley Tisdale's French planter aesthetic is that it needs to look “old” but not neglected, and getting that balance is key.

Erik Collado Vidal, horticulturalist and CEO of Growbarato.net, explains what gives these containers their character: "A well-made French container has the appearance of sitting next to a stone wall for years," he says, noting that terracotta, stone, zinc, concrete and aged metal are the best materials.

"You do not need a luxurious antique item to create the look. You can treat the container with a little dirt, yogurt and watered-down exterior paint or a rub of dirt and limewash."

That yogurt trick is actually genius! The bacteria in yogurt encourages moss and algae to grow, causing a new terracotta pot to age within weeks. A new pot rubbed down with a bit of yogurt and left outside in a damp spot will look 10 years older by the end of the summer.

If you'd rather skip the yogurt experiment (especially if it’s hot outside, yuck!), a pot of Meoded Lime Wash (available on Amazon) brushed on and partially wiped back achieves the same chalky, aged finish in about ten minutes and works on terracotta, concrete and resin.

Jean-Christophe Thery, CEO of MusaArtGallery, makes the same point from a design perspective: "The biggest mistake is over-styling it. French-inspired spaces usually feel best when they look collected over time, not bought in one afternoon."

2. Shape Is Everything

Not all planters will work for Ashley Tisdale's style, as certain shapes are super French and others just... well, they just aren’t. Erik gives a useful shortlist of the right forms, noting that "there are spherical clay containers, square Versailles-style boxes, tapered pots, low bowls and urns."

The Versailles box? That square, paneled wood planter raised up with decorative corner feet? That is one of the most recognizable French shapes.

Dmytro Tkach, owner of DT Renovation LLC, who regularly incorporates high-end planters into custom deck projects, adds a practical note on material selection. "Authentic unglazed clay terracotta or heavily textured cast stone provides the structural presence and elegance required for a true European garden look. Finishes should feature earthy slip-glazes in warm ochre or deep olive green."

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Dmytro also flags something worth knowing if you're placing heavy planters on a deck or elevated surface. "Always calculate the weight of wet soil and heavy stone planters before placing them on elevated outdoor structures to avoid structural sagging," he says, noting that a large cast stone urn filled with wet compost is much heavier than it looks.

If you want the urn silhouette without the weight or the price, this Worth Garden set (available on Amazon) delivers two 22-inch imitation stone urns for the price of one decent real terracotta pot, and at 30% the weight of ceramic, you can actually move them around without putting your back out.

3. Consider The Color Rule

One of the easiest ways to instantly make a planter arrangement look more French and less garden-center is to edit your color palette like a ruthless American Idol judge.

Erik is clear on this. "Only use 2 or 3 similar tones such as light green, milk, grey, and clay. Too many matching pots, too many colors, or too shiny of a modern finish will create a staged look," he says.

Dmytro agrees from an interior-design angle. "For a budget version, I'd focus on aged-looking neutral planters, lavender, herbs, climbing greenery, and one or two strong visual anchors instead of too many decorative pieces."

Two or three containers in the same tonal family, varied in height, will look better than six matching pots in a row every single time.

4. And Think About What to Plant in Them

The French kitchen garden and courtyard look has a fairly consistent plant vocabulary, and fortunately most of it is affordable and easy to grow.

Erik's plant list is the most comprehensive: "Lavender, rosemary, thyme, santolina, boxwood, olive, pelargoniums, climbing roses, and soft grasses." All of these do well in containers, most are drought-tolerant once established, and many of them smell absolutely delicious (an underrated reason why French gardens feel so atmospheric).

Dmytro keeps it even simpler: "Lavender, herbs, climbing greenery, and one or two strong visual anchors." A clipped boxwood ball in a worn urn is doing more design work than a dozen different bedding plants in matching plastic pots.

Phenomenal lavender, like this pack of three from Walmart, is worth choosing over a generic variety: it's been specifically bred to resist rot and disease, handles both hot summers and cold winters, and the silvery-green foliage will have you feeling like you just traveled straight to Provence.

Erik sums up the planting approach well. "Look for a casual look of style and form. If you're looking for shape, a cut evergreen plant in a worn urn will do the job. You can add spilling flowers or herbs to add to the informality."

BONUS: Try The Budget Shortcut Nobody Mentions

The single most transformative thing you can do for a budget planter is age it before you plant it. Buy the cheapest terracotta or concrete pot you can find, paint it with watered-down grey or cream exterior paint, leaving patches showing through, then rub it with dirt.

Leave it outside for a few weeks, and the result looks like something that's been sitting in a courtyard in Provence for decades. After that, lavender, a clipped boxwood, and some trailing rosemary will take care of the rest.

If it's good enough for Ashley Tisdale, it's good enough for us! Très bien!