Just take a look at some of this that I gathered in the woods. Moss is often underrated and underestimated. There are lots of uses for it. If you got a situation where you can’t grow grass–it’s too shady or maybe the soil’s too acidic– you might just think about doing an entire landscape of moss. It can be very beautiful and compelling. For me, moss goes beyond color.
It’s the texture that can really arrest your attention. You take moss with its velveteen covering, a few rocks, and flowing water–well, you’ve created a magical space.
Now, what I’m doing today is I’m actually going to get some moss started on some of these pots. In my shade garden, they look really good with moss growing on them. They look really old. This is a very simple recipe. You simply take some club moss that you would gather in the woods. You take one part moss to one part sugar to 3 parts beer–ah, the secret ingredient–and hit “puree.”
Now, let this blend for about one minute. What you’re creating here is really a moss smoothie. You just take off the lid. Now you’re ready to take this mixture and just apply it to the container like this. Now, one little tip: you can actually moisten the container, soak them in water, and they’ll take the substance in better than if they’re dry like this. You just want to coat the entire terra cotta pot…with a paintbrush.
And then what I like to do is go ahead and sit this pot in place in the north side of the house where it’s cool and moist. That’s the key here. You have to create an environment for the moss to grow. You’ve inoculated the pot with the spores, and the beer and the sugar serve as food for the moss, and now all you have to do is wait.
Now, this takes a little while. So if you expect to have moss on here for a weekend party, you better forget it. It’s not going to happen. But it’s really worth the wait because what happens is these pots take on a quality all their own. They grow a beautiful patina. They actually have a living plant growing on them, and they can add quite a bit of atmosphere to your garden.
Give it a try.