Live Moss Centerpiece DIY

A better title for this should be something like:

The Secret Life of Moss

Moss is one of those strange and wonderful plants that we often see on a hike 

in a dark woodlands area

It also may be growing on the side of an old shed or an old tree stump.

It is not a fungus and is actually beneficial to most gardens 

so if you have some enjoy it!

It is a plant in the simplest of forms lacking roots and leaves

It reproduces by sending out spores from little stem like blades that grow on top of the clumps.

In my never ending search for interesting plants

 moss is currently at the top of the list!

It is usually associated with terrariums but personally I love it unadorned and out in the open 

where you can brush your hand along the top.

So for this project I started with a simple large wood vessel 

and 3 one gallon bags of live moss

I had this shipped from a grower but most floral supply stores carry this and occasionally you can find it at the nursery.

As you can see it was harvested right from the forest floor.

Moss is sort of like living compost 

Many of the tutorials that I looked at recommended gravel as the base for your moss garden but I tried to mimic the actual material the moss would have been found on: 

a combination of pine needles, small sticks and leaves and a mix of decomposing soil .

To support the soil and keep things tidy 

I started by gathering some large plastic trash bags and forming them into a nice mound.

Staple your plastic or use heavy duty duck tape

I soaked my rich soil well, played a layer over the top of the plastic and then carefully unfolded and stretched the moss 

along the top and down into the edges of the bowl

This is my first attempt and it looks rather one dimensional
but even simple projects are a learning curve!

 The arrangement above is wonderful and my next bowl will contain more varieties and shapes

Here is Martha with her moss gardens in beautiful antique Faux Bois bowls she uses throughout her home at Skylands

I added a few little ceramic mushrooms...just for fun

The only real requirement to keep your moss alive is an occasional spritz of water 

and somewhat low light

So even for those that are convinced they have 

a brown thumb 

 you can do this!

Hope you give this a try...

it's a really an easy and  relaxing one hour project...

and the perfect way to start your early fall decorating!

xo