Create a DIY Moss Garden in a Ceramic Dish

Materials

• Drill with ceramic-tile bit, ceramic dish
• Landscape fabric, pea gravel, well-draining potting mix
• Rocks and vascular plants, spoon, skewer
• Moss, tweezers or surgical clippers

Step 1: Drill Drainage Hole

Drill center hole in dish. Add water to cover bottom (settles dust, cools bit). Start at 45° for groove, then move to 90°. Wash dish.

Step 2: Add Drainage Layer

Line bottom with landscape fabric (prevents clogging). Add thin pea gravel layer.

Step 3: Add Soil and Structure

Fill with potting mix to just below brim. Add "bones" — here, a rock and ebony spleenwort fern. Use spoon to dig holes for vascular plants.

Step 4: Plant Moss

Add moss piece larger than space. Trim slightly larger than needed so edges tuck in. Lay on soil, press firmly.

Step 5: Finish and Detail

Tuck moss edges with skewer. Remove leaf debris with tweezers/clippers. Design includes Brachythecium rutabulum and Dicranum scoparium mosses, reindeer moss (Cladonia spp.), and ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron).