Sunday, January 24, 2010

Mucho Moss

IMG_1740IMG_1738 IMG_1734When the never ending rains make lots of moss bring it indoors!  I went on a little walk in the rain yesterday and was loving all the different colors and textures I saw in moss so I brought some inside.  I was inspired by Martha Stewart making a terrarium in a big glass jar which I just happened to have so I went to work making a moss garden in mine.  It was one way to bring the outdoors in and so much fun to do.  First I layered about 1 inch of gravel and sand on the bottom then about 2 inches of potting soil and watered it a little, you wouldn’t want to water too much because it has no where to go.  Then I piled on some mosses and mossy twigs, I even found some little mushrooms.  I added some rocks and a little black frog.  Then I misted the whole thing and put the lid back on.  I’ll keep you posted on how it works.  I am always a little skeptical of things like this since I think plants do better with good drainage and air circulation, but moss might do just fine.

IMG_1743 I also brought in some twigs of things that look about ready to go into bloom and put them in a vase in my corner kitchen window.  I filled another vase with gravel and soil then added some more moss on top and stuck in a mossy stick and added it to my collection of potted herbs that are just starting to grow.  I have a miniature basil called ‘Pistou’ in one pot, I have grown this before in a pot and I loved it.  It only gets about 1 foot high and has tiny leaves with the greatest flavor, so easy to add to anything without even chopping.  I also love chervil and have never tried it in a pot, since it is a small plant I figure it just might work and I love cooking with chervil, but it doesn’t keep it’s flavor when dry and it likes cool weather so is only at it’s best for a short time.  I also planted some Italian parsley in another pot, I have done this before also and it works well, but outgrows its pot quickly. 

These are my experiments in winter gardening…

Keep growing!

Ferne

2 comments:

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

I love the moss garden idea(-: I have a ton here too. I have a jar like that too but I keep my cookie cutters in it(-: I will have to look around for something else to use(-: Thanks for sharing!!!

Dave@TheHomeGarden said...

Neat idea for the moss garden! I noticed a flowering almond with flower buds yesterday I'm tempted to try to force the blooms but I think I'll leave them to enjoy outside.