The Japanese art of making a dish-garden or Hachi-Niwa is as unique as

it is picturesque. Imagine a miniature landscape perfectly carried out in a shallow

dish or bowl measuring anywhere from six inches to two feet, and you will know
what the Japanese dish-garden is. No wonder it is called landscape gardening in a
teaplate! Many of these tiny gardens can be set with perfect ease on a tea-tray.
The idea, it is said, was borrowed from China [sic]. Such a miniature
garden is particularly charming for the porch, paved court, or window ledge,
where growing green things are limited, or where winter cheer is desired.
As far as possible, these tiny landscape gardens are reproductions of
some admired bit of Japanese scenery, for all Japanese gardens of the real native
type, large or small, are imitations of a natural landscape made supremely artistic
by their clever improvement of art over nature!
A Dish Garden is a group of
plants in a small container, resembling a
mini landscape, such as a desert or a
rain forest. It can be an ornamental
living memory of a special event or just
a windowsill hobby garden.
Dish gardens are meant to be
mini-landscapes; they make a great gift
or a fun project for the kids. All you need
to do is arrange small plants in a shallow
container to your liking. You can come
up with a theme for your garden like a
tropical rainforest or desert garden. It's
an easy procedure with a few dish garden
facts to keep in mind.
Imagine having a miniature landscape or nature
scene complete with live, growing plants as a decoration
in your home. When you collect plants that grow well
together, with similar soil, lighting and water needs, and
then arrange them together in a small container like a
shallow bowl, you create an attractive, scaled-down
garden. Dish gardens look similar to terrariums, except
dish gardens contain plants that grow up and out of the
container, while terrariums are enclosed in a glass
container. Make your dish garden as detailed or as plain
as you wish.
Plants for Dish Gardens. Plants have the ability to lighten moods, clean the
air and change the look of a room.
You may be able to place your mini dish garden outside in the summer and
then to move it into your house in the fall for overwintering.
You are sure to receive many complements, comments and questions
about your mini garden.
You should be able to enjoy sharing your mini garden and answering the
questions should be enjoyable too. Enjoy your mini dish garden.
That is another benefit of a miniature dish garden they may be transported
easily.
a. Knife
b. Mini shovel
c. Sprayer
d. Pruning shear
a. Container
b. Pebbles
c. Rocks
d. Shells
e. Climber
plants
f. Cacti
g. Ferns
h. Leafy
ornamentals
a. Compost
b. Clay dish
c. Garden soil
1. Water your plants well the day before you transplant them to your dish garden, and
allow them to drain.
2. Line the bottom of your container with a - to 1-inch layer of pea-size gravel. Line
your container with sand or granulated charcoal if you do not have gravel. Use a
shallow container with a depth of about 3 inches, which allows room for soil and roots.
3. Place a piece of synthetic fabric like nylon hosiery on top of the gravel in your dish.
This fabric keeps the soil from settling into the gravel and preventing drainage.
4. Add 2 to 4 inches of potting soil to your dish container, depending on how deep a
container you have. Mix 1 part sand and 1 part peat if you don't have potting soil.
5. Make holes in your dish garden the same depth as the depth at which the plants were
planted. Set the plants into their holes. Press the soil firmly around the roots for each
plant. Arrange the plants in your dish garden based on how the dish garden will be
seen. For example, plant the largest plants in or near the center, so your garden can be
seen from all sides. Plant the tallest plants in the back of your dish garden if it will only
be seen from one or two sides.
6. Water your plants enough to moisten or dampen the soil. If your container has existing
drainage holes, place a saucer under the containers to collect the excess water and
prevent your furniture from getting water stains.