Moss makes me happy. I don't know why that is but I'm always delighted when it appears in our garden. Maybe it's a reminder of the rain that inevitably precedes its appearance. Maybe it's that it asks nothing of me. Or maybe it's that it covers bare stretches of dirt in bright, beautiful green.
![]() |
| Moss forming on the area above the concrete "stairs" my husband put in to provide safe passage down the steep back slope, some of it an almost florescent green |
It temporarily fills in the cracks between the paving stones that make up the large, otherwise barren space that is our driveway.
![]() |
| Moss adds life to the permeable paving without interfering with its function |
Moss isn't as common here as it is in rainier climates and it doesn't develop fat clumps as it does elsewhere. It largely disappears once our cool, rainy season is over, although it hangs on in one spot in the front garden.
![]() |
| This dirt path used to be entirely in shade with hedges on both sides, providing a perfect environment for moss year-round. Now that the hedge on the left has been removed, I wonder if the moss will hold up to the increased sun exposure during the warm weather months. |
![]() |
| Ming, who I lost to long-term illness in 2014, loved this area of the garden |
Ultimately, maybe it's just that moss heralds the new plant growth that comes with cooler weather here. Even as winter has only now arrived, the appearance of the moss has me scouring the garden for the first signs of the promise of spring. And there are some!
![]() |
| From left to right, all at the bottom of the back slope previously devastated by the heatwave that kicked off the summer of 2016, fresh foliage of: Zantedeschia aethiopica and Centranthus ruber; noID Narcissus; and self-seeded Pelargonium "White Lady' |
More on the wonders of moss can be found
here and
here.
Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum for more Wednesday Vignettes.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
