Can gardening and the love for plants be limited by space or is creativity key to overcome many a limitation? Ask Rekha Bayankar whose trademark Dish Gardens dispel any doubt that a green environment has little to do with large spaces and more to do with putting what you have to optimum use.
Living in a flat or even in a barsati - a Dish Garden can sit on a window sill, occupy a step or be perched on a balcony lending both greenery and beauty to its surroundings. Imagine a little hut, a water body, a man fishing, a hilly backdrop with cascading green Chinese Jade, all enclosed in a large oval dish adorning your coffee table?
A container with drainage, a spray of water and some sunlight are all that this one time creation requires. Layering the soil with wood charcoal, coco peat, garden soil and vermi-compost which help retain air and moisture is important.
Keeping the entire dish submerged in one third water will ensure survival if one is travelling for a few days.
“Dish Gardens are a garden project where common plants are used unlike Bonsai. They were popular in the US, often gifted to garden lovers who were unable to care for large gardens. They allow a lot of flexibility with choice of plants as well as the size one wishes to keep them at, easily movable and are low on maintenance. It also offers room for imagination by placing of artefacts that blend with a theme thus enhancing the beauty of your garden,” says Rekha who has been dabbling with flowers and plants for more than two decades. One can have a Cactus garden, rock garden, herb garden or just about anything one fancies.
Flowering plants like miniature Anthurium, Ixora, Bougainvillea or any plant with shallow roots and small leaves like Jade, Money plant or Wandering Jew are ideal.
“Each of Rekha's Dish Gardens' are beautiful, with drift wood, curios, coloured pebbles etc artistically placed making every one unique. For a garden lover like me it was very informative and Dish Gardens are best suited for small homes,” says Ami Desai member of Sanskruti Ladies Club that recently hosted a demonstration.
Dish Gardens will be on display at Hobby Hub, at the upcoming Horticultural Exhibition at People's Plaza from 15th August. Finally a garden wish that can be grown in a dish!
