Red & White European Dish Garden For Spring

Looking for a quick yet unique centerpiece for your Spring table? This Red & White European Dish Garden is just what you need!

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.

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.   Leaving the plants in their individual containers and arranging them in the container (pot, basket or ceramic type) is a great time saver!

I am excited to show you how I designed this European Dish Garden for Spring!

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HOW TO DESIGN A EUROPEAN DISH GARDEN FOR SPRING

The first step is to choose your container.  You can use any type of container you want.  Because I was going to use this centerpiece on our outdoor table, I decided to use my terra cotta pot which sits in a rustic iron stand.  I wanted to use battery taper candles in the candle holder. The pot could be used without the stand if you wanted.

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.  I used a small saucer to cover the hole in the terra cotta pot.

To make it easier to design the dish garden, I removed the terra cotta insert from the rustic iron stand while I “planted” it.

Choose Your Plants

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”.  While at the garden center (which in this case was actually the local hardware store!), I found a bright red Kalanchoe for the thriller, two white Bacopas for the spillers and a creamy white Viola for the filler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because the plants are going to be kept in their individual pots and watered individually, you don’t need to pay attention to differences in water requirements like you would if you were planting plants together in soil.  For example, the kalanchoe that I chose is a succulent and requires less water than the violas and the bacopa.  When watering the planter, make sure you water into each individual pot.  I use a watering can with a slender spout (sometimes called a goose neck spout) to reach into the planter.

In order to get 4 plants to fit in my pot, I used plants in 4-inch pots.  This particular terra cotta pot is 10″ in diameter.

The “Planting” Process

I placed the kalanchoe in the pot first.

The white viola is added next.  I placed it to the side of the kalanchoe.

The bacopas are added next.  One to the front of the pot and one to the back.

I like to cover the soil with moistened sheet moss.  The sheet moss helps keep moisture in the soil and also makes the dish garden look more finished.

After I finished added the moss, I placed the pot into the rustic holder.  I had accidentally broken off a few stems of the kalanchoe, so I placed them in front of the candle holder for this picture!

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The Finished Red & White European Dish Garden for Spring

The Red & White European Dish Garden made the perfect centerpiece for our first meal on our new lanai.  All the details about the dishes can be found here:

More European Dish Garden Inspiration:

If you are intrigued by the concept of European Dish Gardens, here are a few more examples of European Dish Gardens for different times of the year.

European Dish Garden Featuring Chocolate Drop Coleus

Early Spring Rustic Dough Bowl Centerpiece

Yellow Rose European Dish Garden

Blue & White European Dish Garden

European Dish Garden Featuring Fall Poinsettia

I have been asked about the stand.   I purchased mine years ago and haven’t been able to find another like it.  I came up with a “dupe”.  It is a similar look using a gazing globe stand.

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