Used to hate moss gardens until I saw one at a nursery in Portland

I always thought moss was just a weed that ruins your lawn. But last month I was at a specialty nursery in Portland picking up some ferns for a shady spot in my yard, and they had this whole section dedicated to moss gardens. There was this one setup with a little rock path and different types of moss in shades of bright green and almost gold, and it looked so peaceful and deliberate. The guy working there told me moss doesn't need mowing or fertilizer, it just needs shade and moisture, which is exactly what my yard has too much of anyway. So now I'm trying out a small patch under my big maple tree, just scraping some moss from my own yard and laying it down like a carpet seam. Has anyone here turned a shady problem area into a moss bed on purpose?

2 comments

2 Comments

karenm4918d agoTop Commenter

Actually I read somewhere that moss gardens have been popular in Japan for centuries, like at the Saihoji temple which has over 100 different types of moss. So it's not just some weird hipster thing, it's been around a LONG time. The thing about moss not needing mowing is what REALLY sold me, because I HATE trying to grow grass in those damp shady spots where it just gets patchy and sad looking. I did a small area in my backyard last year and now I'm expanding it because the birds love picking through it for bugs and it just looks so much better than bare dirt. Just make sure you keep that area WEEDED until the moss really takes hold because the weeds will try to take over if you look away for one second.

skyler51618d ago

Ehh I dunno, I still think it looks kind of messy and unkempt no matter how deliberate you try to make it.