Dish Gardens for Gifts

A dish garden is a collection of plants, typically houseplants, arranged in a low bowl or basket. Dish gardens are popular alternatives to traditional cut flower arrangements as they tend to last longer. We see them gifted for birthdays, especially for fans of indoor plants, and as sympathy gifts for funerals. The details of the dish garden vary greatly depending on the designer, the budget, and the intention of the piece. 

Don’t want to make your own? You can order a dish garden or other houseplants from our floral website.

There are two ways to approach dish gardens:

First, you can do a “grown-in" approach, where a variety of houseplants are grown, or at least planted, within the same container. This method is perhaps the most popular way of approaching dish gardens as it feels like the most long-term option. The plants are planted with potting soil. Some are started quite small so that the plants grow integrated with each other to achieve a naturalistic tropical garden look. The downside for the grown-in approach is that many plants that look great together have either different growing preferences or levels of vigor. That means that your balanced dish garden today may quickly be overcome by one plant. You are also limited in what containers that you can use as a long-term growing environment must stand up to watering and have drainage so that the plants don’t develop root rot. 

The other method, which I call the “arranged garden” is to select a collection of plants, arrange them in a large container while keeping them in their nursery pots, and then disguising the nursery pots so that they look like a “grown-in” garden. The benefit of this approach is that these plants can be separated after the event and either planted separately or gifted to other people. 

The best container for your dish garden depends on your approach from the section above. 

Many floral websites will advertise their dish gardens in woven baskets. While this has a traditional look, baskets are not very practical for keeping plants alive in the long term. In order to prevent the basket from being soggy, you need a plastic liner. Unfortunately, plastic liners do not allow for drainage and can result in drowned plants. Because of that, I prefer to do the “arranged garden” in baskets, which can be removed for watering. If you purchase a basket with a “grown-in” garden, just be very careful that you don’t overwater your garden. 

If you want to do a grown-in garden, consider using a low pot meant for plants. These pots should be wider than they are tall with a hole in the bottom for drainage. For a high-end look, use a glazed ceramic container. To save money to dedicate to your plant selections, you can use plastic or terracotta. 

Plants in dish gardens are typically tropical houseplants, but not always! You can certainly do a “desert” dish garden with succulents and cacti. These dish gardens need higher light, but have lower watering needs. For succulent dish gardens, consider accessorizing with sand, choosing a container with drainage, and varying your textures. 

For a classic dish garden, choose tropical houseplants that thrive in an indoor environment. While these plants won’t have the exact same needs or vigor, choose options that might thrive with the same watering schedule and light. That means that you don’t want to mix a plant like a peace lily (which loves lots of water and thrives in low to medium light) with an echeveria (which has low watering needs and likes higher light levels). 

Finally, you can create dish gardens with outdoor plants as well. Because we are a garden center, we have access to a wide variety of blooming plants for different conditions. If you go with the “arranged garden” look, you have a lot of flexibility in mixing plants that look great at the moment, but that should then be planted in different settings. 

The two main things to consider when arranging a dish garden is balance and color. The colors of your plants should complement each other–not clash. Green should be considered your neutral color, but both foliage and blooms can add more colors and contrast to your garden. You may also consider the recipient or honoree in your design. For example, some folks prefer to avoid feminine color palettes when honoring a male loved one. For funerals, many people rely on whites within the blooms and 

For arranging, use the “thriller, filler, spiller” method. “Thrillers” are tall plants that add volume and perceived value to the arrangement. Dish gardens are typically viewed from one side, so thrillers should be placed in the back so as to not block the plants in front of them. If the dish garden is likely to be used as a centerpiece, you can place the tallest plants in the middle. Classic houseplant “thrillers” could be peace lilies, crotons, dracaena, and aglaonema. 

“Fillers” add volume and interest to the middle of the arrangement. Individual plants can get lost within the dish garden if you use too many plants with a similar leaf. Use fillers that have different textures, structures, or blooms to help add dimension to your dish garden. Good fillers include ferns, peperomia, some philodendrons, kalanchoe, and African violets. 

“Spillers” are low growing, vining plants that spill over the side of your container. This gives the dish garden a more naturalistic look and an added sophistication. They should be placed in the front, or to the outside edge of your container. Classic spillers are ivy, silver inch plant, philodendron or pothos, and polka dot plant. 

From there, arrange your plants to balance out the textures, colors, and blooms. That means that your flowering plants aren’t all on one side and that the volume of foliage isn’t too heavy in one direction. 

Most tropical houseplants are known for their lush and interesting foliage, rather than their flowers. A dish garden can be considered finished without any blooming plants are fresh flowers. In that case, I would recommend bringing in some color with variegation in the leaves or colored foliage options like silver inch plant, polka dot plant, purple passion vine, crotons, or ti plants. 

Not to say that there aren’t flowering options: peace lilies, African violets, kalanchoes, and cyclamen all have a significant flower in addition to their foliage. Still, you may want to add more floral touches to increase the size of your arrangement, or to add special colors or flowers.

When adding fresh-cut flowers, wait until you are close to gifting the dish garden before you put them in. Tropical plants do best in warm conditions while fresh-cut flowers do best in cooler temperatures. For the longest lasting blooms, make a fresh cut and pop the end of the stem into a water pick. Place the pick into the soil so that the flower is secure and looks integrated into the arrangement. Coordinate your flower colors with each other and the foliage within the piece. 

We finish our dish gardens with either a layer of bark or moss. Bark works well for “grown-in” planters, covering the bare soil while allowing water to penetrate to the soil. You can also consider pebbles or moss for this as well. Sheet moss or Spanish moss can be good options for the “arranged” garden, covering the edges of pots so that the piece looks like one finished garden. 

Watering plants in our greenhouse can leave water marks on the leaves. While these marks aren’t harmful, cleaning them off can make your piece look finished, clean, and high-end. Wipe the water marks from the leaves or use a product like “Leaf-Shine” to make the leaves look glossy and lush. 

Finally, consider adding decorative picks or a bow to the garden. Bows can help tie your color palette together or help elevate a plastic container. Picks, like the butterfly picks pictured, can make your garden look like a living art piece.

Does your recipient have a pet? Consider creating a piece with only pet-friendly plants, or at least avoid known toxins like lilies. 

Add care instructions? If your recipient doesn’t have a good knowledge base for caring for houseplants, consider giving them instructions. At very least, leave the tags with the plant varieties so they know what they have. 

Water around the entire dish. Because the plants are in a wide dish, add water evenly across the planting so that all plants get a chance to get water.