This Dish Garden Design Combines Houseplants and Spring Bulbs

Think of an indoor dish garden as an opportunity to grow a group of plants in a single shallow container that’s ideal for a tabletop or windowsill. Starting with small houseplants and a container you have on hand makes this a budget-friendly project. Tuck a few prechilled—forced, sprouted, and ready-to-grow—spring-flowering bulbs into the mix for unexpected pops of color.

Full of life and young plants, this potted garden is designed to provide extended pleasure. After a couple of years, the colorful houseplants will be ready to grow on as singles in individual pots or grouped in a larger planter. Prechilled bulbs, widely available from mail-order nurseries and local garden centers in late winter and early spring, readily move outdoors and into the garden after their blooms fade. Toss a handful of fertilizer into their planting holes, and they’ll likely flower again the following spring.

We chose white-variegated plants for a unified grouping. All thrive in the medium light of an east- or west-facing window. When shopping for houseplants, read plant labels and group your selections according to the level of light where they will be placed. Plants receive low light when placed near a north or northeast window, high or bright light in a south or southwest window. Choose plants with similar needs for water, too. We chose Dieffenbachia ‘Camille’, silver pothos, Hedera helix ‘Mini Adam’, Pilea mollis ‘Moon Valley’, and Fittonia ‘Mini White’ as our houseplants. Muscari, Dutch iris. and crocus were our bulbs of choice.

We used a roomy metal tray as a decorative cachepot and fitted it with a pot liner that allows drainage. Letting plant roots stand in water encourages them to rot, so pour off any excess water that may collect in a cachepot.