On 2013-11-30 23:02:30 +0000, Spider said:

On 29/11/2013 17:34, Sacha wrote:


snipThe first time Ray took me to Tresco we were going round the Abbey
Gardens with Mike Nelhams, the Curator. A woman stopped him and
gesturing towards some lichen spotted branches, asked him "How do you
get rid of this?". He replied that they don't as the lichen does no
harm an is an indication of very clean air. I quite understand if
someone is worried about slipping on it but if it's just a desire to be
'tidy' then it passes me by. Someone did a 'moss wall' at Chelsea (?) a
year or two back and it's one of the prettiest things I've ever seen.
Istr that Tom Hoblyn did something similar as a decorative staircase in
a garden at Hampton Court many years ago and it was stunning. Like a lot
of showcase gardens, it wouldn't take daily wear and tear but as a
thought prodding feature in a show garden, it worked wonderfully.


Yes, I think we're sowing from the same seed packet, so-to-speak. I
must get rid of some moss on a dangerous sloping path, but I encourage
it in most other places. I even buy Selaginellas when I see them and
admire mossy Saxifragas, however common they may be. After all, Prince
Charles loves mosses and tries to grow them, so they can't be all bad.
They can look magnificent in woodland gardens, with ferns, Corydalis
and broader leaved woodland plants. I'd like to extend an already
partly mossed area into a bigger hummocky mossy bed studded with Winter
Aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) in late winter. That would be so pretty.

Beautiful, Spider. What a really good idea. When the glasshouses here
were power-washed earlier this year to clean off the glass, lots of
moss got washed off. One of the girls picked some up and arranged
different types in one of those terracotta saucers and took it home.
It was absolutely lovely!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon