How do you make a small indoor moss garden?

I reall like moss and want to make a small potted garden on my coffee table. What kind of moss should I look for? Should I take it from the forrest or? And is there anyway to make them look like hills? I've seen this done a couple times.

How do you make a small indoor moss garden?
Mats of live moss are the best material for starting the moss garden. You can find good- sized pieces of moss already growing on your property and transfer them. Some nurseries may have them. Make sure the soil is packed firmly, never plant in loose soil. Wet the soil surface and the underside of the moss mat. Place the moss in the trench so that it fits correctly and pat firmly into place. It’s a good idea to press down the moss so that it is firmly seated on the soil surface. Most moss that dies after transplanting does so because of air pockets between the soil and the mat. This causes the plants to stay too dry. After the moss is in place, water it thoroughly from above and keep it moist for the first week or so.


Take a good look around your neighborhood to see what mosses are already growing there. Most moss gardens are composed of a few common, easily obtained mosses. Among the best are:


Atrichum angustatum Star Moss dark green, upright starry appearance, produces "splash cups' on male plants


Bryum bicolor Bryum soft, yellow mats, often in cracks in pavement


Dicranum scoparium Broomswept moss large, med. green tufts, appear to be swept in one direction


Ditrichum pallidum Ditrichum common in lawns, in summer almost always with many sporophytes


Hedwigia ciliata Hedwigia grey-brown due to clear cells in leaf tips


Hypnum curvifolium Plume moss dense sheets of yellow-green


Leucobryum albidum Pincushion moss common, whitish, looks like a pincushion


Polytrichum commune Hair-cap moss largest moss in area, dark green, produces "splash cups"


Thuidium delicatulum Feather moss most common in moss gardens, looks like a small fern, in mountains covers huge areas


Sphagnum Peat moss only in very wet situations, will form large mats in ideal ites





Choose a container for your moss garden that’s shallow and blends in with the theme. A shallow clay pot is perfect for a moss garden. Clay pots are available in a number of depths and sizes. You might also consider using a large clay drainage saucer instead of an actual pot.





Consider further embellishing a shallow clay pot with birch bark. You can find sheets of birch bark for sale in craft stores. Simply cut a sheet of birch bark to the proper size with sharp craft scissors, and glue the bark to a clay pot with clear epoxy. Your moss garden will look natural and exceptionally impressive.





When putting together a moss garden, start by filling a shallow pot of your choice with rich organic soil. If you decide to incorporate a plant into your moss garden, place it in the center of the pot. Next, press live moss onto the surface of the soil. To make hills, just round the soil %26amp; press the moss around it.





Care for your moss garden by spraying it with water immediately after planting, as well as on a daily basis. If you’ve added a live plant to your moss garden, water it as much as required.