How Make a Dish Garden

Water your plants well the day before you transplant them to your dish garden, and allow them to drain.

Line the bottom of your container with a ½- to 1½-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.

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.

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.

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.

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.