Aiming to inspire more people to practice urban gardening in their respective homes to make our country healthier and greener, Cedarhills Garden Center will hold a Dish Gardening and Terrarium making workshops on its store at Mother Ignacia St, Quezon City.
Last April 4, Cedarhills kicked off the workshop through inviting press and bloggers to experience making garden dishes and terrariums. They had a hands-on experience on the materials to be used, the step-by-step process and the maintenance of the plants.
Cedarhills houses various species of seedlings, plants, flowers and different types of soils, fertilizers and gardening tools offered by Cedarhills which gardening hobbyist, planting enthusiasts and urban farmers can enjoy.
Cedarhills Garden Center, formerly known as Green 2000 Garden Center was established in the year 2000 and found its first store along Sumulong Highway in Rizal. In the hopes to cater to more garden enthusiasts and hobbyists in the urban market, the then Green 2000 opened its main store at the Manila Seedling Bank Environmental Center in 2002. In 2013, Cedarhills moved to Mother Ignacia St. due to the disclosure of the Manila Seedling Bank.
Come and visit Cedarhills Garden Center at 57 Mother Ignacia Ave, Diliman, Quezon City. It is open daily, Monday-Saturday: 9:00am – 6:00pm. To know more about the schedule of their workshops, contact them on 0907-ORGANIC and 926-2707 or follow them on Facebook: fb.com/cedarhillsgardencenter/.
DISH GARDEN & TERRARIUM- MAKING WORKSHOP
Getting Started with your TERRARIUM
Terrariums are becoming a modern trend in many homes. Compared to regular house plants that require a consider- able amount of attention and care, terrariums are easy to create, affordable, and require little to no maintenance.
Terrariums are simply a display of various kinds of plants –
a miniature garden. Initially used to demonstrate how an ecosystem works, terrariums have now become a popular trend among homeowners, bringing a sense of inspiration and joy of nature to the household. The simple, aesthetic atmosphere they bring is what makes it such a popular item. The best part, terrariums can be personalized according to your personality and style
Materials Needed:
1. Glass Vase
– holds your terrarium and has many shapes and sizes.
2. Small Scooper
used to scoop your potting medium and pebbles into the vase.
3. Carbonated Rice Hull (CHR)
– is placed on the first layer of the vase. CRH neutralizes the odor and absorbs excess water. It also allows air retention, that is needed by the plants’ roots.
4. Dibber
– a wooden tool used to flatten the surface of your media.
5. Tissue paper
– used to dry the inner surface of your vase after spraying the media with water.
6. Pinatubo Pumice
They act as your terrarium’s water drainage. They also aid in air retention because your roots need the oxygen to con- vert nutrients into plant food.
7. Klassman Peat Moss
. This type of medium is pH neutral, making it the safest media to use for your terrarium plants. It is also not as compact as compared to ordinary garden soils, which allows your vase to look more polished.
8. Cactus & Succulents
When choosing plants, remember to consider water & sunlight requirements to make sure that all your plants have the same maintenance requirements. Remember to look for color balance so there will be harmony in your design.
9. Driftwood
10. Jarlet
11. Smooth White Stone
12. Stirrer
Used to clear out, smoothen or position the driftwood, jarlet, smooth white stone & the plants in a precise, careful way.
13. Assorted Pebbles
Used to cover the top- most layer of your cactus mix to beautify and complete the look of your terrarium.
14. Sprayer
Used the sprayer to water the terrarium gently three times a week.
*THE LAYERED MEDIUM SHOULD NOT EXCEED HALF THE SIZE OF THE VASE TO GIVE ROOM FOR THE PLANTS*
Getting Started with your DISH GARDEN
Dish gardens have been popular for years and make great gifts for homes and offices. A dish garden can be defined as a “small-scale landscape,” or “a miniature garden in a shallow, open container.”
The shallow, open container is where a dish garden differs from a terrarium, which normally requires a closed
(often glass) environment to maintain humidity levels and keep terrarium plants happiest.
Materials Needed:
1. Clay Pot – a pot with a wide brim is best used for your miniature landscape!
2. Pinatubo Pumice – adds aeration and improves drainage to avoid root rot due to excess water.
3. Sacto Cactus Mix – mimics the natural gritty and arid soil the cactus & succulents thrive in.
4. Cactus & Succulents
When choosing plants, remember to consider water & sunlight requirements to make sure that all your plants have the same maintenance requirements. Remember to look for color balance so there will be harmony in your design.
Make sure to clear out the extra soil in each plant to make it less bulky.
5. Driftwood
6. Jarlet
7. Smooth White Stone
8. Stirrer
Used to clear out, smoothen or posi- tion the driftwood, jarlet, smooth white stone & the plants in a precise and careful way.
9. Assorted Pebbles
Used to cover the top-most layer of your cactus mix to beautify and complete the look of your dish garden.
10. Sprayer
Used the sprayer to water the dish garden gently three times a week.
11. Oscmocote 18-6-12 Fertilizer A controlled release fertilizer that lasts for months and ensures better plant growth and yield.
Maintenance:
Sunlight
Most cactus and succulents benefit from bright, indirect sunlight for at least four to six hours per day. Too little light results in tall, spindly, unhealthy plants. Conversely, avoid direct light from a sunny window, as intense light may scorch the plants. There are exceptions. Turning the container every week or two ensures that all plants are equally exposed to sunlight, promoting even growth rather than the one-sided growth that occurs when plants lean toward sunlight.
Water
A succulent garden is watered only when the soil is completely dry because the stems and roots of succulents rot quickly in damp conditions. Provide small succulents with about 1 tablespoon of water and larger plants with up to 1/4 cup of water, and then let water drain through the drainage hole of the dish.
Preventing Fungi
To prevent fungi from growing in your terrarium you can: Add Charcoal, such as CRH to your media. They help maintain the cleanliness of the soil by filtering the water. Go easy on the watering! Excess water is the main cause of fungi growth in your terrarium.
Eliminating Fungi
If you have a closed terrarium, leave the cap off for a few days to allow air circulation. You can also prune off affected leaves to prevent the fungi from spreading.
If the fungi is persistent, you may want to consider replacing the whole contents of the terrarium, from the plants to the media or you could spray it with fungicides such as Dithane M-45.
