Moss, An Orchid, And Marsha Owen’s Pottery

Phalaenopsis blooms rise high above a commissioned pottery piece by Marsha Owen.  A beautiful work of art that can be used inside as a centerpiece on the dining room table or in the foyer as a fresh welcome home. Set this dish garden next to the bed for a soothing sight while waiting for the light to wane from evening to night.  During the warm summer months, this moss and orchid dish garden could be admired outdoors. We wanted an orchid container that used moss as  a living plant not as a dried up, deceased, dressing.  Paired with orchids, moss is treated most often as a mulch not as a living plant.  Wanting to combine moss and an orchid as living species, I was inspired to create a container that allowed the two to be displayed together, but with both kept alive. The clever design is a ring to combine a living moss dish garden with an orchid (or another plant); one that has separate containers, allowing for different watering and soil conditions. That is the point of the design: moss wants to alternate damp and dry at the surface, an orchid wants its roots left alone, and one pot cannot do both. When designing your own orchid container, consider live moss rather than dried sheet as the dressing. It keeps the composition fresh, and it keeps growing.