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Moss is everywhere, in cracks in the pavement, in damp corners, in small ledges on buildings, on stones and rocks, in woodlands, on paths and in your lawn. Mention moss to most people and they will reach for the moss killer. However, moss has been around for more than 400 million years and deserves our respect for that alone. It is time to give moss a closer look and learn to love and live with it rather than fight it with chemical warfare. After all, nature usually wins in the end.
There are around 12,000 species of moss. The scientific bit being that they are bryophytes having no actual root, stems or leaves. They get all their nutrients from the air. This however has not held them back from colonizing most damp and shady places in the outside world.
Moss appears in lawns when the existing conditions are better for moss than grass growth. This can be down to shade, damp and soil ph levels. Chemical usage can encourage moss to re-grow especially in more shady places where grass does not easily grow. Nature will simply take over
Deciding to give in to moss in the lawn can lead to many benefits, not least, no mowing, no need for watering and little to no weeding and no treating with chemicals. Moss is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to grass and other conventional ground covers for shady areas but it also requires little to no maintenance once established.
Moss has been used in Japanese Zen gardens for centuries, the earliest of which originated in ancient Japanese rock gardens. Every single element of a Zen garden is highly symbolic and moss particularly so as it represents islands with stones used as mountains and sand for water. Saiho-ji is one of the earliest Zen gardens in Japan. It is known as Kokedera or the Moss Temple because of the 120 types of moss which grow as ground cover in the garden.
There are ways to appreciate moss indoors too - for example it's possible to grow moss in a terrarium. This is a glass jar with a loose lid which has a layer of grit and compost at the base and moss is allowed to grow over it creating a wonderful miniature landscape. Be creative with the container that is used, but it will need a lid, not a sealed one, and keep an eye on the levels of dampness too or mold can develop. Use moss from your own garden or make sure that if you are taking some from woodland that no damage is caused to the area. Only small pieces are needed.
It is also possible to create your own mossy environment by using the recipe below to paint a moss mix onto pots, sculpture, walls, paving, anywhere you want to age or soften and watch the moss grow. This can be used to paint designs on walls in addition to simply ageing terracotta pots and sculpture or rocks, stones and brickwork.
Aside from the many ecological reasons to protect moss and reduce the use of chemicals in the garden, artists and designers have seen the potential in moss and used it in increasingly innovative ways. Last year Icelandic designer Hafsteinn Juliusson created a range of jewelery using live moss set into silver ring settings and were exhibited at the Reykjavik Art Museum. More recently a Japanese designer has come up with a bathmat set with mound forming moss, not perhaps the most practical of designs, but certainly beautiful!
There have also been a number of street projects using moss graffiti created by using the moss milkshake mix. In urban environments they are interesting and exciting and shown depictions of animals and people on the side of building site hoardings as well as brick walls.
Give moss a chance because moss gardens can be extremely calm, green and magical places which create a wonderful mood and a connection to nature through their tranquility and peacefulness, a feeling found in ancient woodlands where moss grows freely.
Moss Painting Recipe
1 can of beer
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Several clumps garden moss
You will also need a plastic container (with lid), a blender and a paintbrush.
To begin the recipe, gather together several clumps of moss (moss can usually be found in moist, shady places) and crumble them into a blender. Add the beer and sugar and blend just long enough to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Now pour the mixture into a plastic container.
Find a suitable damp and shady wall on to which you can apply your moss milkshake. Paint your chosen design onto the wall (either free-hand or using a stencil). If possible try to return to the area over the following weeks to ensure that the mixture is kept moist. Soon the bits of blended moss should begin to grow into a whole rooted plant - maintaining your chosen design before eventually colonizing the whole area.
Use this same technique to paint pots or any surface you would like to age. This is a similar process to using yogurt for ageing old garden pots.
Moss Terrarium
Horticultural grit or very small gravel
Multipurpose compost
Moss
A medium sized glass jar or container
A spray mister
Items to decorate
Take a glass container, with a loose lid. Remove any rubber seal as this will keep the air out. A storage jar is ideal for this. Line the base with some gravel or grit, starting with larger stones first and smaller on top. This prevents the compost from falling down between the gravel. Layer with the compost to about 2/3rds full. Firmly press the moss down onto the compost and keep in a shady place occasionally misting with water. You can add tiny animal figures, or anything you want to create a mini-landscape. A great project to do with children.
This article is by Emma Bond, gardener, author and photographer. I run a garden design and landscaping company in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath. I also write about gardens and photograph them too.
http://www.emmabond.typepad.com/the_orchard_studio
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