Wuthering Heights Has Reawakened Our Passion for This Iconic Garden Accessory – Here’s 5 We’re Yearning For
Heathcliff, it’s me – I’ve come home. Only this time, I’ve brought a garden trend with me.
Against a backdrop of windswept moors, brooding skies and searing emotional intensity, Emerald Fennell’s steamy new adaptation of Wuthering Heights has reminded us of something we’d quietly forgotten: gardens don’t have to be neat, cheerful or even productive to be beautiful. Sometimes, they’re allowed to be dramatic. Melancholy, too. And even a little (or a lot) unhinged – in true Heathcliff-style.
More important than this reminder, though? It's the fact that, at the heart of this gothic garden revival sits one enduring object: the urn. So yes, you’d best believe it’s rocketed straight to the top of everyone’s wish lists.
Once dismissed as too formal or old-fashioned, this iconic garden accessory has been given a new lease of life (sorry, Cathy) in Wuthering Heights. Here, urns feel less like decorative flourishes and more like emotional artefacts – weathered, stoic, and shaped by time. Is it any surprise, then, that we’re yearning for them again?
The Gothic Garden Urn
As seen throughout the gardens of Wuthering Heights, urns bring instant weight and permanence to a space, anchoring it in history and atmosphere.
And, whether you have a sprawling garden or a modest courtyard, a modern space or one that leans hard into the gothic gardening trend, an urn can instantly shift the mood, adding romance, structure and a sense of story.
With that in mind, then, here are five styles that capture that windswept, gothic energy... along with a little note on why they work so well in modern gardens.
1. The Weathered Stone Urn
This is the classic garden urn, and the most Wuthering Heights-coded of them all. Heavy, timeworn and slightly imperfect, a stone urn looks as though it has always belonged exactly where it sits. Moss, lichen and surface patina aren’t flaws here; they’re features.
Used empty, a stone urn becomes sculptural. Planted loosely with grasses, trailing ivy or seasonal bulbs, it softens just enough to feel alive. If you have the funds, splash out on one as beautiful as the Cast Iron Poppy Urn from Terrain seen above. If you don't, hit up your local thrift store.
Either way, be sure to place it at the end of a path, beside a doorway or framed by hedging to create a sense of quiet drama.
2. The Cast Iron Statement Urn
If stone is romantic, cast iron is brooding. Dark, weighty and unapologetically bold, these urns bring a Victorian gravitas that feels perfectly aligned with gothic revival design.
An urn doesn't have to be oversized; something like this shallow dish design works just as well.
Cast iron can be incredibly rustic, if you choose the right garden urn.
A cast iron urn is an easy way to add gravitas to a garden display,
A garden urn like this will work particularly well in smaller spaces, where contrast matters more than scale. And a single cast iron urn on a terrace or courtyard can anchor the entire space, especially when paired with pale planting or architectural foliage.
Let it rust naturally, or keep it dark and glossy for a sharper look.
3. The Classical Pedestal Urn
This style leans into old-world grandeur, but isn't that exactly the point? In a modern garden, a pedestal urn feels slightly theatrical, a deliberate nod to the romantic excess we all love so much in Wuthering Heights.
The key is restraint. Choose one statement piece (like the Fiberstone Plants & Flowers Pedestal from Wayfair seen above) rather than a pair, and avoid over-planting. Ferns, hellebores or even a single small shrub will give you height without fuss. Think “ruined manor”, not “show garden”.
Or, if it helps, just imagine how Heathcliff might style it, and go from there.
4. The Aged Terracotta Urn
Terracotta brings warmth to the gothic palette, especially when aged to a soft, chalky finish. These urns feel sun-bleached rather than storm-beaten, true, but still carry that sense of history and wear – especially if you opt for something as stunning as Anthropologie's Classical Terracotta Urn Planter above.
Whatever you decide, you want to keep it striking. Think Cathy Earnshaw if she ever jetted off to the Med, basically.
A terracotta urn is an easy way to nod to this enduring garden trend.
Garden urns like these are ideal for herbs, small olives or silvery foliage like lavender, offering a gentler take on the trend. And, in moody planting schemes, terracotta stops things feeling too cold, grounding the drama in something earthy and lived-in.
5. The Deliberately Empty Urn
Perhaps the most gothic choice of all: the urn that holds nothing, obviously.
An empty urn, whether it's in the classic gothic style or something a little quirkier (we love Terrain's Barnacle Banded Olive Jar Planter above) invites interpretation. It becomes symbolic – of loss, time, memory, longing, and yearning – all themes Wuthering Heights wears so well. In garden design terms, it also offers visual breathing space, giving the eye somewhere to rest amid planting.
Placed thoughtfully, an empty urn can feel more powerful than a planted one, especially in winter or transitional seasons. It reminds us that gardens aren’t just about growth: they’re about atmosphere.
Beyond the literary and cinematic influence, there’s something deeply appealing about objects that promise permanence in an uncertain world.
Perhaps that’s why the return of the garden urn feels so right. In a world obsessed with fast fixes and instant impact, urns ask us to slow down. To let things weather. To allow beauty to deepen and ripen like (sorry) a fine wine.
So yes, Wuthering Heights has reawakened our longing for this iconic garden accessory. And if that longing feels a little dramatic, a little excessive, even a little unhinged?
Well… it’s me. I’ve come home. And apparently, I want an urn.
