I have an area in the back yard that has shade so dense that grass will not grow there. I am thinking about a moss garden but don't know anything about growing one. Help?
Growing a moss garden
Give the moss a hard surface and keep it consistently moist. If it dries out just a bit, you will loose the moss. Therefore, consistent shade is better than too much sun.
Avoid too much lime and fertilizer, too. You will probably find that other plants who loves similar conditions will start to grow in the moss. Frequent weeding is therefore also a good idea.
These picture was taken at the indoors tropical gardens at the NYBG.
Here is a better view of the wall (vertical). Note how the moss grows directly on the stone.
The moss looks nice in the indirect light through a shaded canopy of large trees.
This one is my favorite shot. Here you can really see the wall.
Last one.. this one with some of the bamboo.
Hope this enspired you.
-- Kenneth
Hi Synergy,
I love moss! it's great to find someone else who does too. Do you have any moss growing on your property now? If so it should be easy to grow more. We gave up trying to grow grass. Moss likes shade, Low PH (acid) and High humidity. Moss doesn't like to be covered by leaves or other stuff. Keep it clean especially going into winter. Here is a great website with lots of info on it, they sell moss too. http://www.mossacres.com/ Moss grows naturally on our the property. We have a path that years ago I started to blow the leaves off in the fall, because I did not want the paths to be slippery with wet leaves and within a couple of years the moss grew!! We have a couple of creeks that run through the property so we have higher humidity naturally. Our paths now look like they are covered in green carpet. I love it, but I will say on the negative side for me it is high maintenance-weeding is ongoing and then some. It is also slippery when wet. This is one of my favorite photos of our garden taken last year.
This message was edited Apr 8, 2006 9:02 PM
Here another one of our paths with moss.
Shady - that's stunning! It looks like there should be leprochauns or fairies there.
We live on steep property. We had to dig a bank down to make a level place for a patio which left an ugly bare bank. My spousal unit used colored cement to cover up the ugly bank but also added 2 waterfalls and planting pockets and little walls. He added the moss and I think it has grown very effectively.
This message was edited Apr 16, 2006 8:01 AM
woodspirit1, That is beautiful!! I'd have to build a hill to create something like that but it would be worth it.
shadyfolks, you make me homesick. I grew up near Athens OH and wanedred over a lot of land that looked just like your picture. I own some land there still and am hoping to retire there. In the meantime I'm trying to create a little bit of "woods" in the city. Not too sucessful so far. But to answer your question. No, I don't have any moss right now. Just weeds. And I don't like to use herbicides so am at a loss as to what to do. I wonder about beds of ferns. Maybe I can get some pictures this aft and post them.
Hi synergy,
I thought of you today, I started weeding some of the moss today, I doit on my hands and knees. It is pretty time intense to weed but I love it.
I found my book on moss: Moss Gardening Inclucing Lichens, Liverworts, and Other Miniatures. by George Schrenk.
I have not looked at this book in probrably five years. So I figure it's time, you have me wanting to learn more about moss at the moment. Maybe I might read about a way to keep the weeds down:)
Let us know what you decide to do.
Shady
If your library doesn't have this book, they can problem get in from the intralibrary loan system.
Woodspirit, That's beautiful I bet you really enjoy spending time on your patio, how relaxing!
Hi Shady,
Thanks for the info, about the book. isn't it neat how those books lie around for ever and then we rediscover them. I'll look for it next time I'm at the library. I may have to postpone my moss garden til next year. Someone left just the seat part to a papasan chair on the curb and my imagination went into overdrive. It is now in my yard. I have some old burlap, I'll line it with and make a humonguous planter. I can get leaf mulch to fill it with and then just use potting soil/compost in the top 3 or 4 inches. Any sugestions? It will be in the shade as well. I'm thinking impatiens and some vines but it needs more. I'm like a kid in a candy shop. And most everybody thinks I'm crazy :)
Thank you Shadyfolks. Yes, we spend a lot of time sitting on the patio feeding the koi or drinking coffee and talking or reading a book.
Now if we could just get some rain. It's much hotter here this April. Our small county has 2 forest fires going right now. One in Pisgah National Forest, a big one, and one in town near homes. They have evacuated several houses but I haven't seen if there is damage yet. I will drive through that area on my way to work tomorrow. I have friends that own a summer camp down there and an elderly brother and sister who used to run a photographer studio in town. Their father started the studio in 1925 and we have lots of their photos in archives which they donated last year.
I'm a big moss fan, too. All those pictures are really lovely, and I love the whole leprechaun and fairy look, lol. I'm new here, and new to gardening in general. We have a mostly shady yard with tons of moss growing...lots of big rocky formations, too, with moss and lichen growing on it. I guess that means we have wet, acid, infertile soil, which is actually ok with me, for the most part. I'd probably be happy if the whole yard was moss and ferns. The only thing I don't like about having moss is having to remove the weeds and little grass shoots that pop up in it all the time...argh, what a pain that is.
Anyway, I just wanted to say hello. I expect to be spending a lot of time in the shade forum since 85% of our yard is shade and I don't have a clue what to do with it.
Noreaster,
Welcome to DG, I am sure I will run into a lot, I mostly hang out in the shady forum, since we are woodland shade.
Looking forward to your input and pictures!
Shady
Thanks for the welcome. I'll post some pics when the tall trees fill in...right now it's much sunnier than it usually is ..in fact a couple of the mossy areas aren't usually looking as lush as usual. I can't wait til those trees get their leaves already! In Maine, it takes forever, it seems.
I've been thinking about setting us a little mini moss "sod" farm in one dark, unused corner of our yard. It's pretty much bare from some excavating we had to do a few years ago. I thought I would weed out the few things that are growing there now and then try covering it with a moss slurry, with buttermilk. Then if that works I'll just remove the pieces of moss sod and place it in the areas I would like it...seems like you can move that stuff just about anywhere, without a problem. Anyone every try the slurry thing or have any tips on that?
I used the slurry thing on some pots and that worked. Never tried it on bare ground. We have a rainy area and lots of forests so I can find it most anywhere.
It's mainly important to keep it moist and shady. The area around my waterfalls where you see moss is mostly in the shade too. Trouble is, the pond, which is just a little ways from the waterfalls, is too shady to grow water lilies.
This message was edited May 14, 2006 8:26 AM