Wondering what to do with your poinsettias after the holidays? Fill a Rustic Dough Bowl with a combination of blooming plants!
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Do you still have a few poinsettias in your home? Wondering what to do with them? I have a great idea! Let’s fill a rustic dough bowl with a combination of poinsettias and blooming plants!
Dough Bowls come in Many Shapes & Sizes
Dough bowls get their name from their original purpose: making bread dough! An antique dough bowl was a great place for the bread dough to rise as the wood helped retain the heat which in turn helped the dough rise. Every kitchen had a least one dough bowl and they were often times handed down through the generations. Antique dough bowls are also sometimes referred to as trenchers. Now, instead of being used to actually make dough, they have become a decorating staple especially for Farmhouse decor.
They come in different shapes and sizes. In my personal collection, I have a round one, an oval one, a square one, a rectangle one, a couple of heart shaped ones and even one shaped like a Christmas tree. I recently purchased an extra-large one that is over 3 feet long!
This is going to be the rustic dough bowl for our project today. It fits great on our dining table in the lanai. It would look amazing on a farm table! I do miss my dining table from the farmhouse! Learn what else I miss by checking out this post: Kim Style; What I Wish I had Kept
There is also an introduction to the concept of “Kim Style” which is what I call my unique blend of several decorating styles.
Back to today’s topic!
3 poinsettias in 6 1/2-inch growers pots fit perfectly in it!
If you have been following me for a bit, you already know that I have a fondness (ok maybe it is an obsession) with European Dish Gardens and dough bowls! Since this particular “project” is a loose interpretation of a European Dish Gardens, I will review the concept of a European Dish Garden.
How to Design a European Dish Garden
The beauty of a European Dish Garden, besides being so easy to make, is that you can combine plants that have different watering requirements together in one container since you are keeping them in their own pots. I generally use the concepts of the European Dish Garden when I am preparing a centerpiece for a specific event or when I need a unique hostess gift or present for a friend or family member.
The first step when designing a European Dish Garden is to choose your container. You can use any type of container you want. Please take into consideration where your finished European Dish Garden will be sitting. If the container is not watertight, you will want to add a liner or something that will catch the water, so it doesn’t leak on to your furniture.
For today’s project, each of the plants will be in a pot with a saucer at the bottom. If you are concerned about dampness between the saucer and the dough bowl, a circle of cork can be placed between the saucer and the dough bowl.
The next step in designing a European Dish Garden is choosing your plants. This was quite easy since I wanted to still display my Christmas poinsettias. I also had two kalanchoes that needed repotted.
I love a novelty poinsettia. I am not sure of the actual name of this bicolor one. I purchased it a week before Christmas, and it still looks great! I have two of them and will use both of them in the rustic dough bowl arrangement. I had purchased a solid pink one at the same time. I moved it outside and put it in a pot of Diamond Frost similar to the picture below. I don’t recommend putting your poinsettia outside unless you live in a warmer climate!
How to Care for Your Poinsettia
One of my blogger friends, Stacy, has an amazing website. In fact, I have told her that I want to be her! She has a great post about caring for poinsettias that gives you all the information you need. Please check it out !
The Kalanchoes
The kalanchoes were in 4-inch pots. They were ready to be repotted into a slightly larger pot. I used a perlite and sphagnum moss mixture and watered them until the water drained out the bottom. I won’t water them again until they are dry.
Kalanchoes will rebloom. Kalanchoes are succulents. I have found that they do better if you just ignore them! Put them where they will get adequate light and water when dry! Don’t over water them.
Putting the Arrangement together
This couldn’t have been much easier! After wiping out the dough bowl, I simply lined up the potted plants! I did have to move the poinsettias around to get their best side so I could nestle the kalanchoes at each end. Then I added the relax sign. So simple!
You might recognize the relax sign from here: Let’s Cozy Up the Lanai For Autumn!
A Last Look
I really like how the aged terra cotta pot looks combined with the rustic carved wood of the dough bowl. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the white pots that the poinsettias are in, but the plants cover up a lot of the pot.
Other Posts You Might Enjoy:
Red & White European Dish Garden for Spring
This combination of red & white flowers can be used almost year-round.
Almost everyone was curious about the terra cotta pot with the wrought iron candle holder. I purchased this years ago at a specialty store. Since I couldn’t fit anything like it on the market today, I came up with a dupe.
I used a 10-inch terra cotta bulb pan and a gazing globe stand. The candle holders are Amish made. I included the links at the bottom of the post.
European Dish Garden Featuring Fall Plants including Chocolate Drop Coleus
I said I would do it and I did! Since dough bowls and European dish gardens are two of my favorite things, I decided to combine them into one attention grabbing centerpiece for an Early Autumn event!
How to Decorate an Antique Dough Bowl
Shopping Links:
10-inch terra cotta bulb pan
gazing globe stand for a dupe of the wrought iron stand
while I haven’t actually used these, I am intrigued by them. they are hand made in the USA
There are a number of sizes, shapes and colors of dough bowls available. Just be sure to check the dimensions, I recommend they be at least 20 inches long if oval or oblong. A minimum of 10 inches in diameter if they are round
Your Poinsettias look so beautiful and doing great. A dough bowl is a favorite to decorate. They are the best!
Thank you, Tammy! These have really done well! I love this color! I love dough bowls, too!