From A Small Corner of Your Yard To A
Sprawling Landscape Of Lush Greenery,
Moss Provides The Ideal Garden Setting
Moss is a wonderful plant that is perfectly suited for small backyards, city balconies, and building rooftops. A brilliant green and puffy softness, coupled with easy care, makes moss an ideal part of a small garden or walkway or even a large area carpeted with mosses.
Moss does not need much water, sunlight, or weeding, and animals don't eat it. You don't have to mow it or use any chemicals on it to make it grow. Moss grows in abundance throughout the world and there are 1200 species of moss in North America. Mosses will grow on rocks, between paving stones, over logs, in soil, or any shady spot where other plants won't grow.
Creating Your Moss Garden
The place to begin in preparing your garden is to assess the type of environment that you have in which the garden will be cultivated.
Start by looking at the type of soil you have and whether it is very dry or moist; what kind of plants are growing in the area; how much sunlight is available; you get the idea. Then visit your local nursery and talk with the experts about your conditions and ask for recommendations on what type of moss would be best for the area and what is needed to ensure growth of the moss. You may have to perform a soil ph test to ensure that you have the right soil to plant your choice of moss in.
Your local nursery can also be helpful with landscaping ideas and accessories that can enhance the beauty and positioning of the moss such as flat stones between which the moss can grow. they can also help with maintenance of your garden.
The next step is to prepare the garden area. Start by removing weeds and other growths and prepare the soil and additives (don't use herbicides) recommended by your nursery professionals.
Plant your moss spores (seedlings) two to three feet apart in little squares about three inches in size. You can ad compost or natural fertilizer. Cover as much area as you planned. Then lightly spray with water and continue doing so regularly for the first few weeks of growth.
Then you should water your moss garden with a light mist of water once a week for just the first year and then stop. Nature will take it from there. It will take one more year for your moss garden to fully bloom and look really good.
After that, it's just a matter of periodic weeding and pulling of encroaching vegitation, but, other than that, you will enjoy your moss garden and it will most likely put you in a peaceful mood.
The Japanese have used moss in their traditional gardens for centuries, but it is only now beginning to gain popularity and acceptance in this country. True mosses, club mosses and peat mosses can be found in a wide range of rich colors, fine textures and unique appearances. They make an excellent ground cover for shade gardens, accents for rock gardens and water features, and is a low-maintenance alternative to grass lawns.
About the Author
Writers for The Moss Garden provide articles and blogs for websites such as TheMossGarden.com
