Moss instead of grass? I think I'm gonna go for it.

[BrazenMuse]

I love cushion moss...always enjoyed lounging around on it when wandering and reading in the woods as a kid...
I think I'm gonna replace parts of my lawn with it...no mowing, no pesky labor except having the leaves blown off of it...saves on water bill...hmmmmmmm


Saw this article today and it clicked...I've been thinking about growing moss as part of the landscaping anyway...but there's a big shady patch in my yard that is my biggest annoyance this time of year and the yard is 125 x 75...so it's a pretty good size. Part of it is my personal bamboo forest (i watch too many kung fu movies and spend too much time at the zen monastery, I know)...and I think I'm gonna add this to part of it ...the shady bit. Hmmm


what say you?

article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/garden/01moss.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=48e474cdea583634&ex=1210478400

[Chris Conrad]

have to be careful where you put it, not appropriate for all 'lawn' type areas...like areas with full sun etc...

[BrazenMuse]

have to be careful where you put it, not appropriate for all 'lawn' type areas...like areas with full sun etc...

true. But I have a very old and very large tree that is across from my back door...it's so shady that it kills the grass beneath it...but that tree is a childhood friend. While I'm willing to get it pruned (this fall), I refuse to kill it. It's the perfect spot to chill on a hot summer afternoon!

Since it creates deep shade, I'm figuring that's a great spot and I can use the moss to stop some of the erosion problem in that area...my yard is higher than the sidewalk but there's no wall on that side...moss is cheaper than a wall at this point...and pretty too.

I need about 25 sq ft of it for the area I'm thinking about and the work will only involve pretty minimal grass pulling. The rest of my yard is still a big healthy lawn that will have to continue being mowed by Juan Carlos & the crew.
I'm also wondering if I can use it to surround the hostas in one flower bed. Hmmm...we shall see.

[Chris Conrad]

should be fine in that tree area....the only thing i've noticed with moss that really turns me off is how delicate it is...easily pulled up in many cases by small animals, people being too rough etc...i had an area on the side of my house with moss...you walked on it wrong it pulled it up...

there are all kinds of lawn alternatives and ground covers that one can garden with...crown vetch is a good choice, they use it for erosion control, but it can get out of hand if left neglected...

[BrazenMuse]

should be fine in that tree area....the only thing i've noticed with moss that really turns me off is how delicate it is...easily pulled up in many cases by small animals, people being too rough etc...i had an area on the side of my house with moss...you walked on it wrong it pulled it up...

there are all kinds of lawn alternatives and ground covers that one can garden with...crown vetch is a good choice, they use it for erosion control, but it can get out of hand if left neglected...
seeeeee...that's just it...I don't want to have to spend time restraining something like vetch. I looked into that before. I have bamboo in the back of my yard...that can be scary sometimes too...

It is easily worn or pulled and that's the only down side I can figure on this sort of thing...gonna have to invisible fence that area to keep the dogs out of it...but that's do-able.

[Chris Conrad]

seeeeee...that's just it...I don't want to have to spend time restraining something like vetch. I looked into that before. I have bamboo in the back of my yard...that can be scary sometimes too...

It is easily worn or pulled and that's the only down side I can figure on this sort of thing...gonna have to invisible fence that area to keep the dogs out of it...but that's do-able.

crown vetch you can mow over if it spreads too much...what i've seen is people plant that kind of thing thinking its some miracle cure, then five years later get pissed off because it took over the backyard they have barely been in all those years...

i'm working on a bamboo project now, but the client is being extremely cheap, unrealistic and uncooperative and i may have to back out...

[BrazenMuse]

crown vetch you can mow over if it spreads too much...what i've seen is people plant that kind of thing thinking its some miracle cure, then five years later get pissed off because it took over the backyard they have barely been in all those years...

i'm working on a bamboo project now, but the client is being extremely cheap, unrealistic and uncooperative and i may have to back out...
hmm...so u think the vetch might be a bit tougher and a better idea?

[Chris Conrad]

hmm...so u think the vetch might be a bit tougher and a better idea?

it might be...you can order it in bulk from various sources...as long as the area it runs into is mowed and maintained, you shouldn't have problems...i have a friend who planted some in a shady area that grass would not grow in. that area ran into the bigger lawn area. it filled in decently in a couple of years, did not really cause problems with the lawn since he mowed regularly and maintained his yard. a place where i hike has it growing pretty much wild on the sides of a trail that is alongside a canal...parks people trim it back off the trails every few weeks and its been fine for years...and that's the wild kind.

musser forests has vetch at $39.00 for 100 plants...

www.musserforests.com

http://www.musserforests.com/prod.asp?p=CRO

[BrazenMuse]

it might be...you can order it in bulk from various sources...as long as the area it runs into is mowed and maintained, you shouldn't have problems...i have a friend who planted some in a shady area that grass would not grow in. that area ran into the bigger lawn area. it filled in decently in a couple of years, did not really cause problems with the lawn since he mowed regularly and maintained his yard. a place where i hike has it growing pretty much wild on the sides of a trail that is alongside a canal...parks people trim it back off the trails every few weeks and its been fine for years...and that's the wild kind.

musser forests has vetch at $39.00 for 100 plants...

www.musserforests.com (http://www.musserforests.com)

http://www.musserforests.com/prod.asp?p=CRO

I'm gonna check the links...how tall does it get? I really wanted something low that I could put my lawn chair on (and leave it) ...and I want green, very green. Wouldn't vetch act more like a wildflower bed?

[Chris Conrad]

I'm gonna check the links...how tall does it get? I really wanted something low that I could put my lawn chair on (and leave it) ...and I want green, very green. Wouldn't vetch act more like a wildflower bed?

true. it says 12-18 inches tal, so not for what you want it for...i've seen the wold kind go taller...

also check out Pachysandra...same site has it...few people around here have it around trees etc...very green, evergreen actually...says 6-12 inches, around here i rarely see it that tall...keep in mind, its a pain in the ass to get rid of once established...think of it as permanent...many of these things in fact...

Myrtle (Vinca Minor) may also be a great option, see that around here under trees also, in fact i'm ripping some out for the project i mentioned above...pain in the ass...

[BrazenMuse]

true. it says 12-18 inches tal, so not for what you want it for...i've seen the wold kind go taller...

also check out Pachysandra...same site has it...few people around here have it around trees etc...very green, evergreen actually...says 6-12 inches, around here i rarely see it that tall...keep in mind, its a pain in the ass to get rid of once established...think of it as permanent...many of these things in fact...

Myrtle (Vinca Minor) may also be a great option, see that around here under trees also, in fact i'm ripping some out for the project i mentioned above...pain in the ass...

grumble grumble says Mr. GreenThumb...:grinyes:

I thank you for the advice...I shall investigate. Question about pachysandra...does it do that thing that evergreens do to the soil beneath them?
Will check both out...

[BrazenMuse]

will the myrtle stand up to me putting my lawn chair in the midst of it?

[Chris Conrad]

grumble grumble says Mr. GreenThumb...:grinyes:

I thank you for the advice...I shall investigate. Question about pachysandra...does it do that thing that evergreens do to the soil beneath them?
Will check both out...

acidify the soil? like evergreens that drop needles? i don't think so...its a vine...

[Chris Conrad]

will the myrtle stand up to me putting my lawn chair in the midst of it?

probably better than the moss...just taller, looser...moss comes up in patches, rips up, some may be tougher, i'm not sure, not really that knowledgeable with moss other than what i see around me...the patches of moss i had experience with would get holes where the lawn chair was, get ripped up if you dragged your feet, easily dug up by squirrels etc...there's a lot of ground covers that are low like moss, take foot traffic, but not suitable for this area...too cold...very popular in cali and places like that...as lawn alternatives...

[BrazenMuse]

probably better than the moss...just taller, looser...moss comes up in patches, rips up, some may be tougher, i'm not sure, not really that knowledgeable with moss other than what i see around me...the patches of moss i had experience with would get holes where the lawn chair was, get ripped up if you dragged your feet, easily dug up by squirrels etc...there's a lot of ground covers that are low like moss, take foot traffic, but not suitable for this area...too cold...very popular in cali and places like that...as lawn alternatives...
hmmm...my many thanks for the information.
I'd still need to pull up all the grass, I suspect. Not that there is very much of it...
I know moss can be fragile...I just love the look and feel of it...too many weekends tramping around in the Catskills, Adirondacks and Poconos, I suspect.

:grinyes:

[12th house]

Love this thread. Chris, I checked out that website. I was thinking of ordering some plants for my mom (she's in the midst of some major lawn re-work). There are some bare spots in partial sun/mostly shade, in what I suspect is poor quality soil, that probably are no good for planting grass and may also be poor for flowers. I was thinking of sending her some ground cover plants or perhaps shrubs. What would you recommend? (planting zone 6b, partial sun/shade, low-maintenance ground cover plant. Attracts birds and other wildlife a plus).