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The winner of the Carolyn Westbrook book is:
Sheila of Our Bungalow’s 2nd Century:
Happy birthday, Karen! My favorite mirrors are also those whose silvering is losing its luster! When I was a little kid, we didn’t have a lot, and my parents started making use of cast-off family antiques (which now fill my house). I remember them not wanting a mirror because the silver was going bad, but even as a child I thought it had such character. To this day I love old, beat-up mirrors!
Congratulations, Sheila. Send me your shipping information via email and I’ll send the book.
I love to work in the garden and living in Southern California I can do this without concern for weather most of the year. This is something that has great benefit and at the same time leaves me longing for the occasional snow storm or an abundance of rain found in so many other places.
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One of the many things I admire in a garden is the moss-laden stone where weather encourages this growth. England comes to mind, but I’ve seen beautiful moss growing on stone benches and planters in Washington state and other regions of the world. Where I live I have to work at it if I want something to have the patina that comes with moss and rust and such.
On my visit to the Bloedel, Bainbridge Island, Washington last fall I found plenty of beautiful moss, including a moss garden they created.
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…and then there’s this…England {sigh}
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{5 ~ Bruges, Belgium}
Recently one of my favorite sites, Design Chic, featured “Marvelous Moss” in the garden, and in the same week I stumbled upon a recipe, in fact 2 recipes, for growing moss on stone or terra cotta (I have searched in vain for the source, but here are the recipes I had copied and pasted for future reference).
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The moss on this bench is the goal, I love it, especially the rich green in contrast with the white hydrangea.
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I’d guess that moss grows in abundance in the shade of these willow trees.
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I love this fountain in part because it looks antique and for it’s pond-like basin, so soothing to listen to water dripping gently into water.
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I’ve seen man-made water features such as this, isn’t it pretty?
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I would love a stone wall, maybe one with a better gate, in the back yard.
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I confess, my sundial is starting to look a bit aged, like this one, but it’s in too much sun to truly grow the emerald stuff.
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{Newton Winery, St. Helena, California}
{As an avid fan of blog-reading and general online fanatic enthusiast, I’m forever wondering how I survived without all of this information at my fingertips before.} First of all, did you know you can buy actual live moss spores? I was very surprised. {What doesn’t Amazon sell}
If you decide to try the recipe, the first one suggests you can use moss from the garden as a starter, or obtain moss spores.
Adding Moss Works Best On
Terra Cotta Stone or Concrete Containers ~ Stone or Concrete Sculptures
There are 2 ways to go about doing this. Both ways work really well, so choose one that best suits your tastes.
Moss requires an acidic environment to grow, which can be developed by painting a pot with buttermilk or yogurt, that’s why both recipes below have one or the other.
Recipe 1:
- Collect mosses either from around your yard or a friends or neighbors (you can also buy moss spores at a garden store)
- Finely chop the moss up (or sprinkle in the moss spores into the mix below if you purchased them)
- Allow the moss bits to dry up for a couple of days (if you collected them yourself)
Then mix together in a large bucket or bowl:
- 1 cup flour
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1-1 1/2 cups dried, crumbled moss
Once the above is mixed together, put the bucket in full sun for three days.
When the mixture is good and smelly, brush it generously with a paintbrush on the outsides of your clay pots. Then wrap the pots in plastic wrap and put them in partial sun.
In two weeks the pots will start to grow mold, and by eight weeks the pots will be nice and furry with moss, and looking very antique and old.
Recipe 2:
- Blend pieces of dried moss or purchased moss spores into
- 2 cups yogurt or buttermilk
- Paint onto your pot with a paintbrush
- Put your pot into a plastic bag to create a humid environment for the moss to develop
- Set the pot and bag in a cool, shady spot until the moss begins to form, which will be about 10 days
- Make sure to plant the container so you will be watering it regularly, which will keep the moss alive and growing.
I know moss growth isn’t for everyone, in fact we had a door to door salesman stop by one day selling some “special” cleaning product. Before I could stop him, to demonstrate his wonder product he sprayed a part of the brick at our entry and was so proud that it instantly removed the bit of moss that had grown there!
So would you actually apply one of these recipes to a planter in your garden? I think I may try it…I’ll let you know if it works.
{1} tumblr Connoisseur, Oxford :: {2} Garden, Home and Party :: {2 England, 3 England, Yorkshire Dales, 4 Bruges, Belgium} source unknown :: {5} Design Chic via Cheryl Rowe :: {6} Design Chic via la maison gray garden :: {7} Design Chic via Mother Earth Living :: {9} Irene Suchocki Photography :: {10} Haus Design,sadly Barbara has stopped her blog posts :: {11, 12} Pinterest :: {13} Providence Ltd. Design :: {14, 15} source unknown :: {16} tumblr, Connoisseur :: {17} Wasping through the Countryside :: {18} Pinterest
Victoria • Restoring our Victorian said:
“Before I could stop him, to demonstrate his wonder product he sprayed a part of the brick at our entry and was so proud that it instantly removed the bit of moss that had grown there!” —-AAAAARRRGGHHH.
Grow moss is on my list of things to do. Along with – learn to knit and propagate roses from cuttings…(This may actually be a list of things I will NEVER do)
Actually, it would just be easier to buy an old English cottage. One that comes with moss. And roses. Then all I will have to do is learn to knit.
Karen B. said:
I was thinking about this post last night…I realized many would think I was some doddering old lady, who formerly lived in England. You hit the nail on the head, and yes, were it not for our family, Mr. B and I would move to the Cottswolds in a heartbeat. Hey, I know how to knit (a little) you and Paul could live in the same village. We’d have tea. xo
Jayne on Weed Street said:
If I didnt have moss growing in the woods, I would definitely try to import it! I often go into the woods and carefully peel it from the earth and use around my big urns at front door, as a ground cover. Supposedly, the moss draws nutrition from the plants in pots, but I find that they happily coexist.
Karen B. said:
Jayne,
Our climate makes growing moss a real challenge, that’s why I am tempted to order the moss growing kit from Amazon, desperate climate, desperate measures. Martha Stewart used to say she just added buttermilk to her planters to encourage growth…that didn’t work for me. 😦
Thanks for stopping by.
Karen
julie ~ eab designs said:
Loved seeing your collection of photos this morning as I adore old urns and moss. I tried a similar recipe to age some terra cotta pots once without a lot of success but my recipe didn’t have the addition of yeast, so I think I may give it another go. We have visited the Cotswolds and Bruges (just as pretty as the picture!) and can’t wait to return there again.
Karen B. said:
Julie, I guess the dry climate of my zone 9/10 in Southern California doesn’t provide me, or rather my garden, the right moss growing environment. I do have success in a very small area by the front door. The door-to-door sales guy wanted to rid me of that! 🙂 Karen
debra phillips @ 5th and state said:
i/we are living in the wrong place. once in washington state i was in awe of the moss gardens and of course england is a magical moss world.
i will try these recipes, the first i have seen with the use of plastic, makes sense.
have you ever seen the line of terra cotta pots called ‘campo d’fiore?’ they come mossed, not furry, but embedded with the spores and a lovely green
cheers!
debra
Karen B. said:
Yes, Rogers Gardens, a beautiful nursery nearby, sells those pots. I have one and love it. Most of my large concrete planters are from Mexico (very inexpensive there) and some of them, in my north facing garden, grow moss. I’m with you, Debra, sometimes I feel like I was meant to live in England…maybe in another lifetime! xo
around the table said:
I’ll be sending you some of our moss Karen!;) Sometimes we have to remove it as it can make the ground slippery particularly if it’s growing on brick or rock where we walk. Having grown up in Southern CA, I recall seeing gardens year round .. and summers of water rationing and buying succulents. Here.. we have a short summer and gardens are out in droves. There’s much more emphasis on foliage color as flowers have a tough time with the freezing temps and lack of sunshine.
Gorgeous photos! The moss on the roof tops and bench .. with the hydrangea is common here in the PNW. xxL
Karen B. said:
Leslie, You are fortunate (other than the slippery moss growing on walkways). I’ve visited the annual Bainbridge Island garden tour a few times and the gardens are so unbelievable. I actually love the various shades of green gardeners skillfully use in place of a lot of annual color. Mr. B and I should move up your way. I would stop whining so much about the lack of humidity and of course, the lack of moss. 🙂 xo
Linda Coble said:
Karen, What a lovely post! I loved seeing the picture from The Bloedel Reserve – one of my favorite places on the planet. Since moving to Washington state over 15 years ago, I’ve learned to love moss. I don’t have to propagate it because it grows wild here. The only problem with it is that it takes over grassy areas. What used to be a nice lawn in our back area is now completely covered with moss. I really don’t mind and I especially love it when it grown between the cracks of paving stones!
I guess I’m lucky that I’ve never had to rub some yoghurt mixture over the surfaces of my outdoor pots to encourage the growth of moss (thank you, Martha Stewart). I’m lucky enough to live where they sell products to get rid of moss.
Karen B. said:
Linda,
Don’t I know it…I loved the way your stone walls looked with moss creeping in and around each stone. I should be in Washington, we could be neighbors.
xo,
Karen
D'Arcy H said:
Thanks for the book, Karen! Can’t wait to check it out!
Yes, as your other PNW readers say, up here in Washington we have NO problem growing moss! I was excited to find an Australian variety (can’t recall the name, darn it) that thrives in sun … but my dog has peed on it, and it’s not thriving quite so much any more. The Bloedel Reserve is an awesome and inspiring place. I just love your photo collection in this post!
— D’Arcy (aka Sheila) 🙂
Gretchen said:
I agree with your other readers, these pictures are beautiful! I want to sit in that chair overlooking the pond, tucked into the ferns and moss, and read a book.
Your story about the guy who so proudly removed your carefully cultured moss reminded me of an experience with my painter. He couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t let him power wash the “aging” off my flagstone courtyard!
Garden, Home and Party said:
It must be a guy thing. They don’t understand why we want something to look like it’s stood the test of time. 🙂
xo,
Karen
Loi Thai Tone on Tone said:
I love a mossy garden path and moss covered pots! Because our garden mostly gets full sun, we don’t have a lot of moss. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Karen. I think I’ll try it this spring….first on the brick walks.
Cheers,
Loi
Karen B. said:
Loi, I’m going to try it too…I have a deep shade area in my garden that would be pretty if green moss was growing in and around the walls and planters. xo, Karen
Design Chic said:
I’ve saved this recipe because moss adds such charm and warmth to paths and urns…love!!
Karen B. said:
I plan to give this a try this spring, I’ll see if my deep shade area of my yard can take on the look of a garden in the U.K. 🙂
Thistle said:
I love the idea of growing your own moss….but I like the idea of an English cottage even more. 🙂
Happy day to you friend!
karianne
Karen B. said:
Karianne,
Me too! But I have to bloom where I’m planted, so I’ll be trying to create that mossy goodness on some of my planters that share space with deep shade. 🙂
Karen