Article: Moss - Why Not Just Leave It? - You'll Love It

Created on: Monday, June 09, 2003

While some of us battle moss in our lawns, striving to rid them of the color and textural changes moss creates as it stealthily creeps along, engulfing all but the toughest lawn grasses, others of us are patiently encouraging the stuff; ever striving for that riverside look, where rock and tree and forest floor are carpeted with cool and lush green, ever so soft underfoot and magical to the eye. Creating a moss garden should be easy. Moss thrives in the worst conditions: damp shade and poor, acid soils. But starting a moss garden takes patience. The site must be cleared of weeds and the soil adjusted to a pH of 5 to 5.5. Only a few varieties of moss are available commercially, so you may have to get permission to dig in a friend's lawn; just be sure to go about a foot deep to get all the roots. You can move sheets of moss successfully, but more easily, take a handful of moss and mix it with a cup of buttermilk in a blender and spread it about. Weed and water it regularly for the first two years and remove fallen leaves and needles so as not to smother the moss. If you are lucky enough to have an existing patch, encourage it in much the same way. Turn it into a lush and tranquil bit of Eden instead!