I don’t know how these accidents happened but I have been left to pick up the pieces (literally) … If you have ever been involved in any kind of outdoor project, you will know there are always casualties – especially when you are working in limited spaces! I hope this will help me inspire to do some stuff with broken pots.
To put you in the picture, there have been multiple casualties here lately and I’m not talking about my bruised dog Bonita falling off the chair…No, these accidents have happened to my precious pot collections.
The culprit has not owned up yet and I have both 4-legged suspects!
A few days later I found this expensive large pot under the tree …And not to be outdone, our gorgeous but boisterous dog busting to make an appointment with nature, bolted out the front door and there was another fatality on the porch.
With a pile of cracked pots, I started to wonder: What exactly CAN you do with them?
I’m always looking for ways to upcycle any resource that could still be useful, so I hope my ‘shattering’ story will inspire you to get creative when your pots or crockery get smashed. All is definitely not lost – they can still find a useful home in your garden – and sometimes in a way you least expect!
My first idea was to use one of the large pieces as a cachepot to hide an ugly black plastic pot – the terracotta was still half intact (a bit like those hospital gowns that look good from the front but are open at the back!) … To disguise this one, I sat the pot inside and used the terracotta pot as a plant marker.
Like many gardeners I used to add a layer of crocks, shards or gravel to the bottom of pots thinking this would help with drainage, but there is scientific evidence that the practice of adding larger pieces actually slows down the water rather than helping it flow – the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. Instead, there are many other uses for small clay shards.
If you have children or grandchildren, try creating miniature garden art or fairy gardens for kids just for fun! Imaginative play and connecting to nature is so important in the development of our children.
Ornamentals and edibles like basil make attractive ground covers and succulents need minimal care.
Succulents are superb choices for broken pot micro gardens. They are low maintenance and can fit in tiny spaces with minimal water needs.
Anyway, what is a dish garden, you might ask? If vegetables on a plate is what comes to mind, put away your fork and get out your favorite trowel. A garden doesn’t have to be big, time-consuming to construct, or conventional. This is a creative way to stretch your gardening muscles over a lazy day. Here’s the dish on do-it-yourself dish gardening: A dish garden is simply a container that has been planted to look like a miniature landscape. The “dish” doesn’t have to be a serving platter, but could be anything from a fancy glazed container to a basic terra cotta pot! Oh, and actual table dishes work nicely too, believe it or not.
Here’s how:
Step One: Choose the Dish
Remember, what makes this is dish garden has less to do with the dish itself, and everything to do with looking like a garden. The container could be anything, as long as it doesn’t rot and holds enough soil for roots to grow. Saucers, serving bowls, paint buckets, windowboxes, terra cotta pots and baking trays are all fair game.
If you’re making the dish garden for yourself, choose a container with a color and material that matches elements of your décor. Use wide and flaring minimalist bowls or platters for modern homes, or perhaps terra cotta pots and blue and white porcelain for traditional themes. If you intend to give the dish garden away as a gift, keep the container simple or personalize it according to the recipients taste.
Provide drainage by drilling holes in the bottom of metal or plastic containers, or add a layer of rocks to the bottom of containers that crack when drilled, like those made of porcelain, glass or clay. Because the goal is to keep plants looking low and small, choose the largest and widest container possible for the most convincing look.
Step Two: Choose the Plants
This is the fun part. The number one factor to consider when choosing plants is size, since we’re trying to make this look like a miniature garden. Most plants will inevitably outgrow their dish before too long, so choose plants that keep a diminutive form either naturally or with the aid of pruning. Think bonsai, but with fewer rules.
Thrifty dish gardeners can take cuttings of houseplants like pothos or ivy by placing the cut stems in water until roots form, and then transplanting the new plants to the dish garden. Plant an edible centerpiece with small leaved herbs like creeping thyme, rosemary and oregano for a dish garden that really lives up to its name. Cacti and succulents are popular for desert themed dishes because they retain their short stature for a long time with minimum care. A rainforest themed garden would include small bromeliads, rainforest cacti, creeping fig, anthuriums or ferns. I’m sure you can think of other ideas too!
Step Three: Choose Decorative Elements
There’s more to beautiful gardens than just plants. The most effective garden designs incorporate anything from rocky outcrops to tranquil water features, so be sure to include those elements in your dish garden too! Fist-sized stones magically become massive boulders, and a simple bed of sand creates wide expanses of deserts and beaches. Taking it a step further, you could even incorporate tiny terra cotta pots, tiles and doll furniture to create an outdoor room for fairies. Create a coral reef fantasy world with coral cactus or sticks on fire planted amongst colorful sea glass, shells or marbles. With some creatively repurposed ingredients, any gardening theme can be recreated in miniature as a dish garden.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A container
- Plants (water in advance)
- Potting Soil
- Gravel (for containers without drainage holes)
- Decorative Elements (rocks, tile, etc.)
Before you do anything else, make sure that the plants have been well watered in advance. This will enable you to tease apart the roots without breaking them and stressing the plant.
If the container you’ve picked has no drainage holes, fill about a quarter of the container with gravel to provide drainage. Next, place the plants (while still in their pots) on the bed of gravel and experiment with different combinations and placements until you’ve arrived at a satisfying composition. Before adding soil, add large elements like rocks or branches so that the soil can be filled in around the objects, creating a natural appearance.
Once everything’s in place, take each plant and gently tease apart the roots, using your fingers. If the container is wide and flat, spread the roots out horizontally so that the top of the rootball is level with the soil. Fill in the space between each plant with potting soil, watering lightly as you go to eliminate any air pockets between roots.
Now it’s time to make it look like a proper garden. When enough soil has been added, you can go in and carve out miniature ravines and pits with your trowel. Your fingers will also work, in a pinch. Add gravel, small stones or fir bark as mulch, and incorporate wood, flat stones or cork to serve as hardscaping.
If you’re feeling really creative, reinforce the design with unexpected details such as figurines, fossils or seashells. This is yet another great way to personalize the dish garden if you’re giving it away as a gift.
The plants will eventually outgrow their container, but don’t get discouraged. The overgrown plants can be repotted elsewhere and the container can be the start of a whole new creative composition.
Capture the essence of beauty’s brilliance with this dish garden bursting with captivating color. An eye-catching combination of plants arrives seated in an upcycled broken pot container to send your warmest wishes and sunniest sentiments.