Moss Milkshakes

Transplanting Moss

One of the first plants on earth, moss can add a lush storybook quality to my Little Town garden. MossAcres.com writes, "Since they obtain all their nutrients from the air, moss plants require nothing more than shade, acidic soil, and adequate moisture to flourish."

Click here for a video on how to establish a moss garden. Last week I used this information to transplant moss from various places in my yard and woodland area to the Little Town garden.

Transplanted moss to my backyard Little Town called Parsley

I also followed advice from A Nest for All Seasons to transplant moss: (1) Find the moss; (2) Remove it with a sideways scooping of the trowel; (3) Remove all weeds; (4) Place it on bare soil in a shady area and then water (I chose a rainy week to transplant); (5) Keep moist for at least a week; (6) Watch the moss grow healthy.

Transplanted moss to my backyard Little Town called Parsley

The Moss and Stone Gardens blog gives more specific details:

All mosses are classified as either acrocarpous or pleurocarpous. Acrocaps have an upright growth while pleurocarps spread out branches. For acrocarps work in sections about the size of the palm of the hand to keep the colony intact. Pleurocarps can be collected by scooping, scraping, or raking. David Spain of Moss and Stone Gardens writes that for months 1 and 2, water acrocarps daily. During month 3, water every 3 days. Then progress to once a week for month 4 and twice monthly for month 5. After month 5, water only if rain is absent for three or more weeks. Pleurocarps can be watered daily to encourage establishment and spreading. You do not have to reduce the frequency as with the acrocarps. [This site has more good information, so check it out.]

Transplanted moss by the barn

Creating a Moss Milkshake

I want mossy walls, rocks, and timbers, so I was glad to discover the moss milkshake. You can purchase the mixture, or you can easily make your own. Here are three similar recipes:

from DIY Backyard Gardening

• Ingredients: 1 part live moss, 1 part sugar, and 2 parts beer

from SpaGoddess Blog

• Ingredients: 2 cups live moss, 2 cups of live cultured buttermilk or plain yogurt

from Apartment Therapy

• Ingredients: 2 cups of water, 2 cups of buttermilk, live moss (to fill to top of blender container)

Instructions for all three recipes:

1. Place ingredients in blender. (I bought a $15 "mini" one at Walmart just for moss shakes.)

2. Puree the moss concoction until the consistency is that of a milkshake.

3. Take a paint brush and "paint" the mixture on porous pots, rock, paths, steps, and timbers.

4. Place objects in the shade and mist surfaces to keep the surfaces most.

5. In about two months, you should see healthy patches of moss.

Painting on the moss milkshake with my little helper

After cool and wet weather during this last week, look how happy the moss is in its new home.

The next post will share my transplanting existing plants to the little garden. See you then!

Little Town Planning

Ever since I read The Borrowers at Isabella Elementary School, I have been fascinated with miniatures. Much of the art in my home consists of houses, and I have a collection of miniature English cottages, mills, castles, and villages. My husband shared that love, so today I have a playroom with a beautiful dollhouse and a huge train layout. If you have been following this blog you saw the latter here. You may have also seen my inspiration for an outdoor Little Town here. When you have time, go back and enjoy the tours. For now, I want to share my progress with my outdoor Little Town.

The actual planning began one year ago because I have had many structural projects after storm damage. Once the trees and debris were clear, I began to see what I had left. Remaining were the beautiful sunny areas that my husband had established; destroyed were all my shade gardens. I had a new canvas, and the rainy summer helped my rooting projects - forty new hydrangeas and an abundance of sedum, miniature vinca, ajuga, and creeping jenny. My shady areas are now bare or cleaned, so I have much potential work for the spring.

Thinking of my garden rooms already connected with stone paths, I planned new areas, a budget, and schedule determined by weather conditions and planting seasons. The most fun research happened on Pinterest. My fairy garden board became the most popular one, with the most followers and re-pins. And as my style, I began with "If Anything is Possible." Here is my vision (without the fairies for I am more of a "Borrower").

Pinterest Video Link with Sound; YouTube Video Link without Sound

Not ready to build my own hypertufa houses or invest in the best, I chose the resin houses at Plow and Hearth. My three-year-old grandson brought them in the den to play throughout the winter. I spent the winter sketching ideas.

Location? I chose a place that I could see from my kitchen window and from every back window upstairs. This area is part of my husband's daylily terrace garden that was too shady for lilies. The first week of spring, I contoured the area with compost and soil. I had to re-enforce the rotting beams which, of course, will be porous and perfect for moss.

View from upstairs

View from my kitchen window

The name of this Little Town? On the morning of the day I started in the dirt, I won a door prize at my garden club meeting. Here is the copper garden stake and a wonderful name for this Little Town Garden.

The Little Town of PARSLEY

The next posts will be about gathering moss, making moss milkshakes, seeding, and borrowing plants from other areas of the yard. I hope that you visit again!

Next Post: gathering moss, making moss milkshakes, seeding, borrowing from existing plants