Re: Moss - some experiences
- Subject: Re: [SG] Moss - some experiences
- From: L* K*
- Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 06:20:28 -0700
----- Original Message -----
From: Arnhild Bleie <abbl@ONLINE.NO>
To: <shadegardens@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 4:46 AM
Subject: [SG] Moss - some experiences
> I want to share a few experiences about moss. I use a lot moss
in my garden
> - maybe I have told you that before? I think it is a beautiful
ground cover
> ... and the idea I picked from the wild nature out in our
forests.
>
> Feather moss:
> I prefer to use one called feather moss - this one holds good
and do not
> easily fell into small pieces. Also a plus that the colour is
some
> yellow/bright green - the plus is that the other and darker
green garden
> plants do not compete with the moss in colour - if it was a
very green moss
> they would disapear more.
>
> Winter protection:
> I live in a rahter mild climate regarding winter frost - but
this winter
> was bad: the coldest feb/mars/april for 85 years - no snow and
deep frost
> and wind! I noticed when spring came that the places I had had
time to
> cover new beds with moss the very late planted (nov/dec) bulbs
came very
> nice, while in the beds open they had problems or died out!
>
> Birds:
> The trush birds were making a mess out of some of the looser
kinds of moss
> this winter (no snow) - they probably look for food there ..
but not in the
> feather the moss - that was some stronger.
> I wonder if anyone else have the same experiences about birds
and mosses
> during winter time?
>
>
> Arnhild - Hardanger in Norway
I loved reading this. But you would probably say I have no
winter (people
from back East do -- I live in Central Coast California). Winter
is when
we get our moss growth. I don't know the name of the moss on my
bricks.
It's not feathery, it's more velvety, though it has little
frondsin the wet
months (it goes almost dormant in our dry summers) Does your
moss
grow more in the winter? I had thought everything but conifers
and
maybe holly would go dormant. (I also had the impression most of
y
our little birds were migratory!)
Do you think that the birds were hungrier because it was colder?
Lucy Kemnitzer
