Moss is something usually avoided in landscaping, but apparently its making a comeback!
During the many times I’m scrolling on social media, I have seen a fair share of moss coming across my page. Usually I see it as a base for bonsai trees, or some cute succulent gardens, but recently a picture caught my eye of a moss backyard and it looked amazing!
Since it looks so soft and magical, I decided to do some research and surprisingly, moss could be a game changer when it comes to lawn care!
Moss is easy, aesthetic, and comes in many varieties.
If someone were to moss their entire backyard, it wouldn’t need any more attention. The springy stuff needs no cutting, watering, or fertilizer to grow.
Moss is a hearty organism which can thrive in even the lowest quality of soils. Because its so low maintenance, its actually a great grass substitute! For any age home owners who want to save money on the water bill and have a little extra time on Sundays to watch the game instead of cutting the lawn, this is a great alternative. Depending on where you live and what climate you have, you should choose the moss accordingly. There’s hundreds of types to choose from to create the aesthetic your going for.
Eco Friendly
Moss, like most organisms have a relationship with its environment and great news for us, moss helps! If you live somewhere cold, you probably deal with snow. To keep everyone safe, roads are salted and unfortunately when that salt drains through the soil it has affects on soil and water. Moss can help counteract this. Because of its absorbent nature, it grabs that water and uses it, since moss isn’t affected this is a great thing to implement in cold climates.
Moss actually helps control the runoff of pesticides, fertilizer, salt and many other pollutants. A new movement is happening in Europe called the Green Roof Movement which has now spread across the globe with Toronto being one of the leading forces. If you can replace or update your roof, balconies, or exterior walls to house plants, it can lower temperature, counteract polluted storm water, and even reduce home energy use when done properly. Its amazing to think what can be done simply by making room for greenery!
Moss Gardening
If a whole lawn or roof is too daunting, but your interested like me, try a moss garden! I was so excited to get my hands on this stuff and you should be too! Since moss grows over terrain easily, I decided a few rocks and things in the corner of the yard mixed with a small fairy garden would be magical! I wasn’t disappointed. Although mine is just kicking off and should be established in the next few weeks, this type of gardening is already something much simpler I can enjoy!
