British Columbia: My Goal: Small garden entirely carpetted with Mosss

Greetings, I was wondering if anyone has experience with growing a moss garden.

Attached are some photos of my almost realized vision. As you can see, I live in a townhome and my garden is only about 9 by 4 feet. I have spent a couple years trying different things with it, but this idea of a Japanese-style moss garden recently came to me. I feel it is the best direction to take my garden in because a moss garden would be an economically, environmentally, and culturally appropriate design for this setting.

Economically it works because a good proportion of the garden is already covered in moss (as seen in the photos) and I am hoping to fill in empty patches either with the transplanting method or blender method. Environmentally it works on a few fronts (native plants, low water requirements) but the most exciting environmental contribution it can make (in my view) is through increasing the habitat heterogeneity of the site - I get a lot of chickadees, juncos, spotted towhees, song sparrows, and kinglets in my garden, and I believe this is because most the gardens in my complex can be considered to be in later seral stages (with their abundant shrubs and perennials) whereas my garden (since I've been indecisive about what to do with it) has remained in an early seral stage (mostly forbs and mosses). By arresting the succession of my garden to this early seral stage, I am providing one more variety of habitat, and the greater the variety of habitat types, the greater the amount of biodiversity. And finally, culturally, the design is appropriate because of my complex's Japanese connection

Please take a look at the photos and provide me with any advice, critiques, or stories you might have with trying to form a carpet of moss in your garden. My site is south facing and about 80% of the area receives dappled light and the remaining 20% receives full sun for about 1/4 of the day and is completely shaded for the rest. Drainage is pretty good.

Note the empty patch at the left of the second photo that I've tried to fill with a transplanted clump of moss. Do you think it will spread??

 

I wish I could give some advice, because I think it's a great idea.

All I can suggest is a couple mossy gardens you may like to investigate. Nitobe here at UBC, for one. And the other is the Moss Garden in the Bloedel Reserve.

 

Great ideas. When I google moss gardening, I find some good resources. We re-did a small courtyard last fall & I transplanted moss (pic attached). The key for me has been to try to match the source with the destination. There are many different species that occupy widely different habitats along roadsides & on crown land that I can relocate without upsetting anyone.

Please keep telling us about it, I have been promoting moss as a valuable component of gardens & feeling lonely :)

 

Hi Sabaf,
I love what you've done, and never would have thought you could control the light on a southern exposure as you have. I live on the 7th floor of a NW facing apartment (in New West) and am trying to grow native ferns (among others) and have always wanted to plant a few little Japanese pots with only native moss, and then transfer some of it around the ferns. But I'm hesitant to collect, certainly from our parks. Did you collect your original moss? Do you know of a good source? Do you know of a local nursery that carries it?
Christine

 

I planned on a 'small space' moss garden with several small maples several years ago. The only 'moss' I could find in over 40 garden centers wasn't even the real thing (Irish Moss). Asking employees if they ever stock moss typically brought blank stares, with 1 or 2 wondering why I would consider such a thing (this from reputable garden centers). I plan on checking again next spring and will update on this forum. It's ideal for small spaces, shade areas, so I'm hoping there will be renewed interest by retailers.

 

Maybe it's a good thing that our appreciation of mosses hasn't become 'mainstream'. I've seen pictures of forests denuded of moss by collectors and it isn't pretty. Hopefully we can find a good safe source in the lower Mainland. For anyone enjoying fiction, Elizabeth Gilbert's novel The Signature of All Things is a lovely account of a 19th century botanist who is smitten with the world of mosses.

 

Thanks for the reference. As for collection in the wild, I'm against it. Here is a link on collection. In many places, it is illegal. For example, in the UK you can be hit with a hefty fine. for plucking a single flower.
GOERT : for Gardeners & Restoration Practitioners : Ethical Guidelines for the Collection and Use of Native Plants

If more people ask nurseries to sell moss, they will pay attention - eventually! I'd love to find a source to start a (rock) fernery next spring.