Dish Gardens Bottle Gardens and Terrariums

Single plants are very valuable in a room, provided they are restricted in number so that they give some sort of emphasis; however, if it is desired to have a display, be it large or tiny, it is better done by grouping plants in one container. Although this has already been mentioned on page 21, it must be stated here once again, that plants chosen for any arrangement must all like the same living conditions. If this vital rule is not adhered to, the dish garden will inevitably be a failure. This does not, however, present any difficulty because although there are numbers of incompatible plants, there are still many left to choose from.

The most attractive arrangements of house plants in a container are those composed of plants varying in height and in growth habit and which have contrasts in foliage shapes and colours. A well-proportioned grouping, generally speaking, should always contain one predominantly tall plant with several bushy ones of varying low heights to act as a foil, and one or two trailers, which will gracefully overhang the sides of the dish. There are two approaches to planting out a dish garden. The first, which applies to a grouping of plants that all like much the same soil conditions, is to knock the plants out of their pots and plant them in compost in the normal way. It is important that when this is done particular care is taken to see that there is good drainage.
The alternative method of making a dish garden is to put into the container a layer of moist peat, on which the individual pots are stood. They are then packed round with more damp peat up to the rims of the pots. This method has the advantages that plants liking different types of soil, but not different environmental conditions, can be mixed together; it allows different plants to be given varying levels of watering; in enables flowering pot plants and bulbs to be included in a grouping to give colour at varying times of the year; and it enables some plants to be positioned at an angle if the nature of the arrangement demands it. If necessary, the rims of the pots can be hidden with stone, driftwood or moss.

Miniature gardens, which are rather more complicated because they include small garden features, such as paths, pools, well-heads, etc. and therefore call for some designing, are planted out in the same way as for dish gardens.

There are, of course, many combinations of plants that can be very charmingly used for a dish garden. The final choice must be a matter of personal taste, but a few typical groupings are:

Bottle gardens demand some skill but to make them is a very absorbing task. More commonly they are constructed in disused acid carboys, but these are not always easily obtained.

Of course any large bottle with a wide neck is suitable, provided it is made of white glass so that the occupants receive the maximum light. Yet another type of vessel that can be similarly planted out is a glass terrarium. This usually consists of a ten- or twelve-inch diameter bowl fitted with an airtight lid. Quite a satisfactory terrarium can be improvised, using a disused battery jar or a goldfish bowl. The advantage of planting in such containers is that they allow delicate plants to be grown, which require a very moist atmosphere, warmth and complete freedom from draughts.

It will be appreciated that a wide-mouthed terrarium is much easier to plant out than a carboy. The latter demands quite a lot of dexterity, but with patience and several improvised tools it can be done. The ultimate results obtained are so beautiful that it is worth while making a great effort to create a bottle garden. It is now proposed to discuss how this is done. It will be appreciated that the same principles apply to other types of bottles, terrariums, and goldfish bowls, but manoeuvring in the last two is very much easier.

As a preliminary to making a bottle garden, it is necessary to provide some tools. Most of these can be improvised by the bottle gardener using two-foot long bamboo canes as handles to the various implements. An excellent substitute trowel can be made by cutting off and straightening a little the handle of an old teaspoon. The end is then stuck in the hollow centre of a bamboo cane, with, if necessary, some packing, using a plastic padding adhesive; likewise, a fork-cum-rake can be constructed from an old table fork. Another valuable planting tool is a rammer, which consists of a spent cotton reel through the centre hole of which is rammed a bamboo cane smeared with adhesive so that a secure joint is obtained. Tools required for the maintenance of a bottle garden consist of a long-handled pruning knife, which can be constructed by securely mounting a razor blade in the split end of a two-foot long bamboo cane and fixing it with sticky tape. To remove the cuttings and dead leaves a pair of long-handled tongs are required. These might be improvised by shortening the handles of a pair of light kitchen tongs and giving them long bamboo ones. If this is not possible, with practice such debris can be taken away from the bottle with bamboo canes, used in the manner of chopsticks.

The first thing to do when creating a bottle garden is to wash the carboy out thoroughly, since it has usually been previously used to carry strong acid. Copious quantities of detergent and water should be used for this purpose. As it has no means of free drainage, the bottom of the container should be lined with a layer of stones or other crocks.

On top of this must be placed a quantity of moist commercial potting compost. In order to increase the display this may be made sloping, using the fork, from back to front and given some undulations. The compost is then lightly consolidated using the rammer (see illustrations overleaf). The selected plants should next be arranged in their small pots in a bowl of compost with a surface approximately the same in area as that of the soil in the bottle garden. By doing this, a satisfactory grouping can be obtained beforehand because manipulation in a narrow-necked carboy is difficult.

When this has been done, a hole is made with the trowel in the compost in the bottle and the first plant is dropped into this hole and manoeuvred into position using the improvised tongs or 'chopsticks'. The roots are then covered and the soil firmed round them with the rammer. It is better to commence planting on the outside and work towards the centre. Care should be taken to see that the plants are not squashed against the sides of the bottle, but a few leaves might be allowed just to touch them. Interest can be increased by covering some of the soil with stones or pieces of mossy bark.

All that remains is to water the plant and wash the inside of the glass. This is most effectively done by means of a small cylindrical garden spray, preferably with the nozzle set at an angle, which can be inserted inside the carboy. The soil should be watered and any adhering to the leaves be washed off. Also any adhering to the glass should be removed by means of a sponge attached to a piece of wire.

After the top of the bottle is closed, at first it will steam up, but this will soon clear away. It will not need watering again for at least two months. It should, however, be watched, particularly in the early stages to see that it does not dry out. After a good moisture balance has been established, the bottle garden will only need water occasionally. Depending upon the surroundings, the intervals could be as long as a year.

A selection of plants suitable for Bottle gardens and Terrariums
It is important not to choose strong-growing plants for this purpose. Those given in the following list are suitable.