My Moss Garden

Story ID:	2875
Written by:	Virginia Allain
Organization:	none
Story type:	Things to do
Location:	East Wakefield NH USA
Year:	2007
Person:	myself

Spending the summer in New Hampshire's lake region, I reveled in this new environment. Having grown up in Kansas I was more used to prairies than forests. Now woods surrounded us on all sides and the trees towered overhead. As I explored, I began to spot raspberry bushes, pink lady slippers, and other flora new to me.
I found myself drawn to the plush textures of the mosses. I noticed them creeping up the sides of old logs, filling shady nooks in the woods and surprising me with their variety.
At first just to spot a clump of moss in the woods satisfied me. I'd wander about identifying wildflowers, gathering campfire wood, and looking for moss. When I emerged from the woods, I had brambles clinging to my socks and pine spills in my hair.
Then I started collecting the moss. Other people collect stamps or Barbie dolls, but I collect mosses and lichens.
I wanted them to grow in my moss garden. Nestled in groupings around an old stump, the moss created a landscape suitable for a hobbit or a fairy garden. I started several of these close to the edge of the woods. There I could admire their varied shades of green and carpet-like growth. To add further dimension, I tucked in a few tiny ferns. I discovered club mosses with their miniature tree shapes and included them in the tiny landscapes.
To keep them happy, I bought a spray bottle and misted them every day. I searched on the internet for information on growing mosses. There were identification sites and even nurseries devoted to growing and selling moss. Apparently my hobby was not so novel after all. Bonsai gardeners liked to include mosses in their dish gardens.
As I learned more, I read about the life cycle of mosses. I found that some of the plants I collected were lichens, not mosses. Their names intrigued me. There was pixie cup lichen, reindeer moss, and wolf's claw club moss. Trying to match them with photos in a book or pictures on the internet wasn't easy. Many of my mosses remain unidentified.
Last week, I found the deer liked my moss garden too. It had been dry for several weeks and I noticed the mosses in the woods feeling stiff and dry. I kept my mosses plump and thriving with their daily misting.
Two of the collections were torn apart and chunks of moss strewn about. These were just beyond our back deck in the edge of the woods. Suspicious looking tracks in nearby mulch look much like deer hoof marks. I knew that deer ate moss, but hadn't thought about them coming so close to our cottage to find my moss gardens.
Several days of rain, including one day with four inches, means my gardens may be safe again. The mosses in the woods have plumped up and the deer won't need to venture close to humans for food. I'll have to search out some more clumps to replace the vandalized moss gardens.
My interest in moss provided me with two new hobbies. Besides collecting and growing mosses, I've dabbled with macro photography so I can capture the beauty of the moss with my digital camera.

Photos: 1) one of my smaller moss gardens
2) moss close-up
3) pixie cup lichen with moss
4) moss with sporophyte