Building a dish garden
While indoor gardening helps stave off post-holiday blues and cabin fever, windows providing full sun can be scarce. Light stands take up needed space. What’s a gardener to do? Build a dish garden!
Dish gardens are collections of plants sharing a single container. Terrariums are enclosed dish gardens.
To build a dish garden, select a container deep enough to hold a few inches of soil. It can be a shallow ceramic pot and matching saucer or a decorative casserole dish that’s no longer used in the kitchen. An old gallon pickle jar, an unused aquarium or any glass container with a lid can become a terrarium.
When using a container without a drainage hole, you’ll need to take extra care that the plants’ watering needs are met without overwatering. Accumulation of excess water can lead to root rot. For containers with drainage, use a light potting mix. For terrariums and containers with no drainage, start with a layer of gravel. Add a thin layer of activated charcoal to help prevent bacterial growth. Finish with a few inches of light potting mix.
Select plants that share the same requirements for light, water and humidity. They should be slow growing and naturally small in size. Terrarium plants should also be suited to an environment with high humidity.
Humidity-loving plants like miniature African violets, polka dot plants and button ferns do well in terrariums. Cacti and succulents are best suited for open dish gardens. If you’ve fallen in love with a glass container but the plants you want to use prefer a dryer environment, leave the lid off to allow moisture to escape.
Now comes the fun part: designing and planting your miniature garden. Use a piece of paper or cardboard cut to the dimensions of the planting area to layout your intended design. Be sure to allow room for any embellishments you plan to include.
Depending on the container, you may only need a spoon for planting. If you’re building a terrarium in a glass container that’s deep or has a small opening, attaching a spoon to a dowel makes reaching the soil easier. Kitchen tongs can help position plants.
Once plants are in place, consider adding pebbles, aquarium gravel or sand in fun colors. Tiny figurines or other decorations can add interest to a miniature landscape.
Finally, give your plants a drink of water. Because terrariums are enclosed, they won’t lose much moisture from evaporation, so water sparingly, adding it by spoonfuls to the soil to achieve desired moisture levels.
Place dish gardens in a well-lit location. Depending on the plants selected, this could be in or near a sunny window or under a grow light. Terrariums should never be in direct sun.
Terrariums are enclosed dish gardens and can hold a number of plants and mosses. Photos by Debra Heleba
A terrarium won’t require much maintenance. Depending on how airtight the lid is, it may be months before you need to add water. You may eventually need to do some pruning to maintain the size and structure of the plants you’ve chosen. Always remove any dead or damaged foliage.
A dish garden will require more attention. In addition to watering, pruning can help maintain the plants’ size and shape. If they become overcrowded or outgrow the container, consider removing and repotting them.
Contact the University of Vermont Extension Master Gardeners Helpline at go.uvm.edu/gardenhelpline if you have questions about dish gardens or home gardening in general.
As the snow piles up outside, a dish garden or terrarium can be a welcome reminder that spring and a return to outside gardens are on their way.
by Deborah J. Benoit, UVM Extension Master Gardener
Featured photo: Dish gardens can come in all shapes and sizes to house various indoor plant collections. This ceramic log houses succulents.
