Indoor Tabletop Water Garden

As far as the backyard garden at casa de radmegan goes, most of my vegetables have ceased production for the season. The pitchers on my carnivorous plants are browning. My sweet little alien-like conophytums and lithops were covered up last week to protect against too much rain. On the whole, my garden has closed up shop for the winter.

I'm not a person who enjoys being told what to do (you're not the boss of me Mother Nature!!), so I defiantly brought a little piece of outdoor gardening inside and plopped it right down on the table. Since we moved into our rented house over a year ago, I've really wanted to put in a water garden. Having THAT much yard is just so tempting. As renters though, I'm not totally comfortable digging up a chunk of lawn, and cementing it over, just to fulfill my every wish. True I said I don't enjoy being told what to do, but I DO enjoy getting my deposit back in full, thank you. And thus a table-top water garden was crafted!

This is a super easy and rewarding way to keep a little green on your thumb this winter. And as lots of water plants require over-wintering, it's really a win-win for you and your plants. 

Here's what you will need for your very own table-top water garden:

- A glass container, bowl, wide-mouth vase etc.

- Water plants such as taro, water lettuce, water hyacinth, duck weed, fairy moss etc.
- Plastic pots shorter than the height of your glass vessel

- Assorted rocks

- Potting soil

- Charcoal bits
- Mosquito fish (optional)
- Pure water

Place the taro in your plastic pot and add soil. Pack the soil down snugly and cover with rocks and pebbles. Rinse off any loose soil from the exterior of the plastic pot. Make sure your bowl/vase/container is clean and free of cracks. Take a handful of charcoal and line the base of the vessel to help against odors. Cover with aquarium pebbles. Fill the vessel with the most pure water you can get your hands on; rain water, reverse osmosis water, or distilled. Place the potted taro into the vessel. Some loose soil may escape the pot- just scoop it off the top of the water, and add more rocks to the potted plant if needed. Pull off any dead roots from the floating water plants, and give them a good rinse before adding to the bowl. If you plan on taking the water garden outside, and then bringing it back inside later, mosquito fish are a good idea. Nobody wants mosquitoes hatching in their living room!

I picked up my water plants at OSH for under two dollars each, but there are LOTS of options online if you want to try something more advanced.

Before taking on a water garden, I'd suggest perusing a few books. I find so much inspiration from gardening books in general, but this one from Better Homes and Gardens does a good job of telling you what level each garden is, and how long it will take to complete.

One last note on water gardens- many water plants can be extremely invasive and destructive when introduced to natural bodies of water, so if you find yourself needing to dispose of any extra plants, please throw them in your compost heap, or trash bin and do NOT put them in streams, rivers or lakes. 

Thanks for reading, and have fun making your own tabletop water gardens!

And for more inspiration, be sure to check out these awesome books!

And, because a couple of people have asked, this is similar to the charcoal I use:

UPDATE!! I've had a lot of questions about where I purchased my glass tea cup. Since I can't find a link online, I thought I would provide you guys with these great alternatives! Hope you enjoy!