Looking for a quick centerpiece for Thanksgiving? A European Dish Garden is quick & easy to make!
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European Dish Garden – doesn’t that sound fancy? What makes a dish garden European? The secret behind a European Dish Garden is in the way it is put together and what types of plants are used.
A European Dish Garden is simple to make because the plants are left in their individual pots and grouped together in a basket, container or pot. I have had this terra cotta pot that sits in this rustic candle holder for a number of years. I haven’t used it as much as I would have liked. Now that I see how easy it is to use for a European Dish Garden, hopefully I will use it more often!
I did use it for one of the centerpieces for my Mom’s 85th birthday party. The planter has angel vine in it and is accented with rustic daisies and battery operated candles. All of Mom’s decorations can be seen here:
Fall & Poinsettias
Fall & poinsettias aren’t words that you would normally find in the same sentence! In fact, when I had the flower shop and I suggested to my assistant that we use the Cinnamon Star poinsettias in Thanksgiving dish gardens, I was immediately shot down!
Cinnamon Star Poinsettia
But I was apparently ahead of the trend! At the grocery store yesterday, I found a Peach Glitter poinsettia that had a tag that read Fall Poinsettia! Here it is by itself. I just love the peach color!
How to Put the Garden Together
The first step 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 water tight, you will want to add a liner or something that will catch the water so it doesn’t leak on to your furniture. I used a small saucer to cover the whole in the terra cotta pot.
By definition, a European Dish Garden combines green and blooming plants. They are left in their individual pots and grouped together in a single container. While at the grocery store, I saw an orange kalanchoe that I thought would look good with the Peach Glitter poinsettia.
Normally, I would add a 4 inch pot of ivy or angel vine in the empty spot. I like to use the “thriller, spiller and filler” method of planting. In simple terms, the thriller is the focal point, the spiller adds motion and the filler fills in the “holes”. There weren’t any plants that fit the spiller requirement at the store or on hand at my house. Not to be defeated, I used an artificial succulent as a 2nd filler and didn’t use a spiller this time.
Once everything was in place, I used Spanish Moss to conceal the pots and to help hold them in place.
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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 !
A Final Look
For the picture, I used regular candles. Battery candles would be better to use so that the plants aren’t damaged by the flame. This stunning European Dish Garden will last well beyond Thanksgiving.
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This is beautiful, and what a unique container! And how did I not know that there were flameless tapers!
Thank you, Danielle! I love the container too! I don’t know why I don’t use it more often! Battery operated tapers are great! The ones I have take 3 batteries each though. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my post!