On two days in mid-September, I was asked to be a trainer and demonstrator for container gardening where I will show 2 couples how they can select, combine and display a variety of plants together in a dish garden. The entire process was put on film for a variety programme named “Kata Dulang Paku Serpih” that will be broadcasted on Suria. The filming took place at the Lab at HortPark.
For my demonstration, I used a variety of houseplants with attractive variegated leaves which include the variegated rubber plant (Peperomia obtusifolia ‘Variegata’), red nerve plant (Fittonia verschaffeltii cultivar), English ivy (Hedera helix) and the satin pothos (Scindapsus pictus). To add height and some more colour, I also used two flowering flamingo flower plants (Anthurium andraeanum cultivar) for my work.
The end product of my demonstration resulted in a dish garden shown in the photograph above. I used a container that has been woven out of dried stems for its unique appearance with an interesting texture. The center of attention were the two flamingo flower plants. Below these two plants are shorter plants with variegated foliage to add some splashes of colour to the green leaves of the flamingo flower plants. To soften the look of the container, some trailing English ivy plants were used. This container garden is still looking great and is on display in HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner.
I conceived of four different container gardens for the two couples to choose from. Two were dish gardens based on cacti and succulents. The third one was an Asian culinary herb garden and the last container garden comprise various tropical houseplants. The completed dish gardens are shown in the photograph below.
The aim of making container gardens was to allow partners to show their appreciation for each other. Interviews were done and process of making the container gardens were broadcasted on 14 Oct 09 at 8.30 pm and 15 Oct 09 at 7.30 pm.
