Moss has many benefits for your garden aside from just looking absolutely fantastic. We’re talking about the green, ground covering mosses, not that grey hairy stuff found in all the trees around here. (Spanish Moss) These mosses retain moisture and release nutrients into surrounding areas without using anything from the soil it grows on. It mostly just needs a stable surface (no rocks in the dirt, no fine grain sand, mulch or leaf litter, etc.) and water.
There are different ways to create “moss graffiti” or a moss garden all over the internet, and I’ve collected the ones that seem to work the best. Remember, anything worth doing will sometimes be difficult, time consuming or frustrating, but always know that in the end it will look FANTASTIC! So don’t give up! Keep trying different methods, and if you find a way that worked for you, post about it here! Let us and the rest of the world know!
(Click on the images in this post to discover many other moss-related blogs and articles!)
1. Find Some Moss! – Look around your yard for shady, moist areas and you’re sure to find at least one type of moss. Take a walk around your neighborhood or check out some parks in your area and you’re sure to find one strain of moss that appeals to you. Take a handful or so and make sure you get the whole growth and not just the green on top.
2. Mix It Up & Apply! – All you need is a blended mixture of moss and something like buttermilk, yogurt (non flavoured) or condensed milk. You’ll need water and a little bit of sugar as well. The exact measurements depend on the size of the object, wall, etc. that you would like to grow your moss. Typically you’ll need a handful of moss, 2 cups water (or beer!), 2 cups buttermilk (yogurt or condensed milk will work) and if you’d like the mixture not to drip, in the case of painting on a vertical area, you will need also need corn syrup. Add everything EXCEPT the corn syrup to your blender until smooth, then add the syrup until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
3. Get Creative! – Grab a paintbrush and get to it! If adding a moss feature to a wall or other flat surface, you’ll find your life much easier if you draw out your plan with chalk or pastels first. Get your brushes out and paint the desired area. You can refrigerate the leftover mixture so that you may add to your design once the moss begins to cultivate. Your patience will be tried but believe me, it’s worth it to see living, breathing art! For the next couple of weeks, you’ll want to spray the moss with water and keep applying the mixture. You can choose alternate days but I would spray the moss a little every day, and apply the mixture every couple of days until it really starts to grow.
4. Enjoy! – I think this is one of the most exciting new trends I’ve seen lately with homeowners and ambitious, creative minds. Not only is this an environmentally friendly, oxygen producing activity healthy but it can be lots of fun, especially if you enlist the help of friends and family (especially little ones!)
If you’ve tried this before, share your photos with us! Hop on over to our FACEBOOK PAGE and give us a like! You can also link to this blog or post a photo in the comments! You may have tried this and found a process that works better than the others, so let us know! We like to hear input from our friends and customers! Thanks for reading 🙂
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