Small-Plant Gardens and Moss Gardens: Miniature Indoor Displays

SMALL PLANT GARDENS

House plants that aren't particularly striking on their own gain greatly in effect when combined in mixed plant gardens in large bowls or dishes. Many house plants actually thrive better in a community.

Fill the bowl with John Innes potting compost No. 1 or soil with a little crushed charcoal added. Arrange plants on the surface to visualize composition before removing from pots. Choose plants for contrasting shapes, textures, and colors.

Plant firmly, interspersing a few small rocks if desired, then cover the soil surface with coarse sand or granite chippings. Take great care not to over-water, especially in winter; small-plant gardens in centrally heated rooms need more water than those in cold rooms.

An unusual and lovely dinner table or party decoration is a temporary small-plant garden made for the occasion. Dig up plants from the outside garden and arrange artistically in a bowl. Push metal funnels (available for this purpose) into the soil between plants, fill with water, and stand fresh-cut blooms in them. This combination of growing plants with cut flowers is called pot-et-fleur.

MOSS GARDENS

The best time to make a moss garden is mid-winter, when woodland mosses are at their peak. Dig out clumps of various mosses—the search makes a pleasant winter outing—and arrange in a flat dish. An old meat server is ideal. Ensure no moss straggles over the dish edge or it will act as a syphon and dry out the garden. Spray moss with water weekly. Add variety and color by tucking primrose or violet roots between moss patches, or sticking in one or two winter blossoms cut fresh from the garden. However, the contrasts of texture and color between different mosses are interesting enough to warrant using mosses alone.