If you live in an urban high rise and long for the bliss of indulging in gardening then despair not, a tray garden in your home is the best way to perk up your living space. No matter what your design style or space constraints, a tray, some sand, a few pebbles, rocks and coloured stones with some potted plants are all you need to set up your tray garden.
The advantages of a tray garden are many:
- Your tray garden comes together in a matter of minutes
- You can arrange and rearrange it as frequently as you like
- You can celebrate seasonal plants and flowers in your living space
- You are required to devote just a few minutes towards maintaining it
- Just some spray watering is enough while the sand absorbs the overflow
In that way a tray garden is ideal for anyone who is short on space and time but would love that green patch or many green patches in their home. What’s more the choice of how and where you present it is entirely up to you.
You could play around with trays and platters, an old tray or a new one – it’s your call. Some African Violets in an old plastic tray or some Succulents or Cacti with pebbles on a metal tray or a wicker tray with a colourful spread of Pansies are all ways to add colour and life to your living room, corridors or bedrooms.
Another variation is creating a moss garden on a tray. For this you will need a shallow tray which you will cover with a thin layer of potting compost. Look around the garden for some moss, dig up or cut out small pieces and arrange them on your tray. If you can find different types and colours of moss it will just make your tray garden more interesting.  Add some mossy stones, pieces of bark or shells and your tray garden is ready!
Your imagination is the only limitation to exploring the use of tray gardens in your home. Here is an idea to create a tray garden your kids will enjoy:
Place little fairies sitting amongst brightly coloured flowers and rock plants if your little one loves fairies and dreamland. If your kids have a flair for adventure then a dinosaur garden made of ferns and rock plants with little toys peeping through the undergrowth could get your kids interested and excited about the idea of having a tray garden.
A word of caution though. There is a difference between clutter and a good number of plants and other components you can use to create a tray garden. Don’t go overboard, keep a fine balance, a minimalistic display has its own charm and you would do well to remember this as you decide to perk up your home with a tray garden.
Image reproduced from freedigitalphotos.net