Dish Gardens 101: Introduction

This March, we are focusing on a phenomenon that appeals to gardeners, plant growers, and florists alike.

Welcome to Dish Gardens 101.

Try an experiment. Get together with a group of your friends, family, or coworkers, and at some point in the normal flow of conversation, mention that you're thinking about purchasing or creating a dish garden.

Then count the number of blank stares and confused looks you get in return.

It's a shame that dish gardens go unacknowledged and unnoticed when they are so easy to care for and maintain, and such a lovely and healthy addition to any indoor space.

We at Paul Wood Florist are on a mission to reintroduce the dish garden into the everyday vocabulary of people going to a flower shop such as ours.

Today, we're starting small, with the definition of a dish garden.

What's a Dish Garden?

GardenGuides.com says that a dish garden is a "small-scale landscape," and "a miniature garden in a shallow, open container."

BloomIQ.com mentions that such gardens are composed of "groups of plants in a decorative container" and that the end result is the creation of "fashionable home decor that dresses up a living space with interesting textures, unique shapes, and organic color."

The shallow, open container is where a dish garden differs from, say, a terrarium, which normally requires a closed (often glass) environment to maintain humidity levels and keep terrarium plants happiest.

At Paul Wood Florist, we loosely define a dish garden as a selection of easy-to-care-for plants grouped together, still in their respective pots, in a larger, decorative container (ceramic, metal, basket, or other). Dish gardens often feature accents, which we'll cover in more depth later this month, and are usually "finished" with moss (reindeer moss, sheet moss, or other).

Here's an example.

This dish garden features a collection of mixed green and blooming plants in a wicker basket. Each of the plants in the basket is still in its own container, making it easy to replace one plant with another to change the overall look of the design, or when one of the plants begins to wilt or needs a dormant period and is less visually appealing.

What Can You Do With a Dish Garden?

The possibilities are endless.

Know someone in the hospital or in need of a pick-me-up? Try a dish garden for a unique alternative to flowers. Plants tend to last so much longer!

Need a host or hostess gift for a party? Take a dish garden along with a mix of unique plants to express your thanks.

Looking to decorate for an event of your own? Dish gardens make beautiful centerpieces and provide interest from every angle, giving your guests an instant icebreaker for conversation.

Want to celebrate someone in your life? Give the gift of spring with green and blooming plants combined in a sophisticated, rustic, or otherwise unique container to bring spring indoors.

Stay tuned for more information, including the history of dish gardens, the best and most popular plants to use, how to build a dish garden yourself, maintenance tips, and much more!