Guides

Preserved moss walls

The no-watering, no-light green wall most offices actually have. What preserved moss is, and how to build one.

How to make a moss lawn

A green, no-mow, drought-proof carpet for shade. When to choose it, and how to establish and keep one.

Moss as ground cover in a shade garden

The answer to that bare, shady patch where grass won't grow. Moss under trees, on banks, and among shade plants.

Moss as living mulch

It does mulch's job and never needs topping up. How moss retains moisture, smothers weeds and protects soil.

Ageing pots, stone and ornaments with moss

Give a new pot or ornament a weathered, decades-old look. The slurry method for ageing stone and terracotta.

Bun moss (Leucobryum): the cushion moss

The pale, domed cushion moss beloved of terrariums. What Leucobryum is, where it grows, and how to keep it.

Plait moss (Hypnum cupressiforme)

The glossy creeping mat on every fence post and tree trunk, and the sheet moss behind countless terrariums and living walls.

Common haircap (Polytrichum commune)

One of the tallest mosses, a forest of green spires on wet acid ground, with real internal plumbing and a long human history.

Broom fork-moss (Dicranum scoparium)

The combed, all-one-way cushions of a woodland favourite, much wanted for terrariums and moss gardens.

Springy turf-moss (Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus)

The loose, spongy, star-shaped moss that thickens in tired lawns. The one most gardeners meet first, and the one that makes a fine moss lawn.

Wall screw-moss (Tortula muralis)

The little hoary cushions on every wall top and mortar joint, named for the spiral of teeth that flings out its spores.

Common pincushion (Grimmia pulvinata)

The hoary grey-green domes, frosted with white hair-points, that stud sunny wall tops and gravestones. A moss built for sun and drought.

Tamarisk moss (Thuidium tamariscinum)

The elegant fern-frond moss of damp woodland floors, prized in moss gardens and terrariums for the movement its arching sprays bring.

Glittering wood-moss (Hylocomium splendens)

The glossy feather-moss that carpets northern conifer woods, building its growth into yearly storeys you can count like the rings of a tree.

Silvery thread-moss (Bryum argenteum)

The metallic silver cushions in every pavement crack and gutter: a true city moss, and one of the most widespread plants on the planet.

Willow moss (Fontinalis antipyretica)

A true native of cold clean rivers, streaming out in the current like dark green hair. The aquatic moss for ponds and coldwater tanks.

Pointed spear-moss (Calliergonella cuspidata)

The pale, spear-tipped moss of damp lawns and meadows, its young shoots drawn out to a hard point. What it says about your ground, and what to do about it.

Swan's-neck thyme-moss (Mnium hornum)

The dark-green woodland moss with surprisingly large leaves, a hemmed margin of paired teeth and a capsule that nods on a curved neck. Common on acid banks and old stumps.

Rough-stalked feather-moss (Brachythecium rutabulum)

The glossy, shapeless green weft on logs, wall feet and lawns: probably the commonest garden moss, and the one nobody can name.

Woolly fringe-moss (Racomitrium lanuginosum)

The silvery grey carpet of high plateaux, block scree and cooled lava, its leaves drawn out into long pale hairs. A moss that thrives where almost nothing else will stand.

Bonfire moss (Funaria hygrometrica)

The pioneer that follows fire, with swan-necked orange stalks and a seta that winds and unwinds with the weather.

Redshank moss (Ceratodon purpureus)

Very likely the commonest moss you never notice, until spring, when its massed purple stalks flush a roof or a cinder track wine-red. A pioneer of waste ground that shrugs off drought and pollution alike.

Luminous moss (Schistostega pennata)

The cave moss that glows green-gold from dark crevices, its lens-like cells bending faint light back at the eye. Goblin gold, and how to find it.

Moss in floristry: wreaths and arrangements

The quiet green material behind a wreath or a basket. The florist's mosses, what their muddled names mean, and how they are worked.

Moss for carnivorous plants

Why sphagnum is the growing medium for sundews, flytraps and pitchers, and the strict water rule that goes with it.

Moss for orchids

Why sphagnum suits Phalaenopsis and friends, potting and mounting with it, and the watering balance to avoid rot.

Marimo balls: care, and the truth about them

Not a moss at all, but a charming green alga. How to keep one alive for decades, and keep it round and green.

Reindeer moss: the lichen everyone calls moss

The springy stuff in moss walls and model railways is a lichen, not a moss. What it is, and how it is used.

Moss fairy gardens and miniature landscapes

Moss as the lawn of a tiny world. Building a miniature landscape or fairy garden, and keeping it green.

Moss walls and biophilic design

Why moss walls turn up in offices and lobbies, the wellbeing and acoustic case, and living versus preserved.

Is moss safe for pets?

Cats, dogs, reptiles and fish: which moss is safe, what to watch for, and the preserved-moss caution.

How to revive dried-out moss

Brown and crispy is usually dormant, not dead. How to bring dried moss back, and when it has really gone.

Kusamono: moss and accent plantings

The little seasonal plantings shown beside bonsai, where moss is the finishing ground. What they are and how to grow one.

How to get rid of moss

Lawns, roofs, patios, paths and decking: how to clear moss without wrecking the surface, and stop it returning.

Moss on artificial grass

Fake grass greens over too, wherever it lies damp and shaded. How to clear moss from the pile and infill without wrecking it, and stop it settling back.

Moss on trees: should you worry?

The green sleeve climbing a trunk is a lodger that takes nothing from the tree. When moss on bark matters, when it does not, and how to deal with it kindly.

Mosses of the churchyard

Centuries of undisturbed stone, in more kinds of rock than any quarry, make the old churchyard a quiet stronghold for moss. What grows on the tombs, and why it is worth leaving.

Moss on roofs: is it a problem?

Does it harm the roof? Why not to pressure-wash, safe removal, prevention, and moss as a lightweight green-roof option.

Making a moss green roof

Greening a shaded shed or garage where sedum sulks: the layers beneath, getting the moss to take, and keeping it.

Moss in paving, patios and gravel

Moss in the joints: when to clear it as a slip risk, and when to encourage it for that soft stepping-stone look.

Growing moss on rocks and stone

A mossed boulder or a green-edged stepping stone reads as instantly old. Here is how to establish moss on bare rock, and why the stone and the spot matter more than the method.

Water for moss: rainwater or tap?

Why rainwater beats hard tap water for moss, what lime and chlorine do, and how to water without overdoing it.

Moss care through the seasons

What moss needs in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and why the cool damp shoulders of the year do the heavy lifting.

Moss poles for climbing houseplants

Why monstera and other climbers love them, how to make one, and how to keep it damp so aerial roots grip.

Spraying moss slurry at scale

Cover a whole wall in an afternoon. Why airless sprayers fail, which gear works, and how to keep the moss alive.

Sphagnum moss and its many uses

The bog moss that holds many times its weight in water. Its uses for orchids, carnivorous plants, kokedama and more.

Aquarium mosses

Java moss and friends: attaching them to wood and rock, the light they want, and keeping them tidy underwater.

Which aquarium “mosses” are really moss

Java moss is the real thing. Marimo balls, Riccia and Süsswassertang are not. Sorting the true mosses from the impostors.

How to propagate aquarium moss

Never buy it twice. Multiply Java moss and friends from fragments, on mesh or hardscape, submerged or emersed.

Build an aquarium moss propagation box

A step-by-step DIY emersed grow-box that turns a scrap of Java moss into trays of it. Parts, build, automation, harvest.

How moss benefits Caridina and Neocaridina shrimp

Biofilm, cover, and far higher baby survival: why moss is the one plant a cherry or crystal shrimp tank should have.

The dry start method for moss and carpets

Grow a dense moss carpet emersed before you flood the tank. The full aquascaping method, timeline and trade-offs.

Moss in a bioactive vivarium

Live moss in a dart-frog or gecko vivarium: the layers, the cleanup crew, which mosses survive, and why many fail.

The best mosses for a terrarium

Cushion or carpet? The species that thrive under glass, where to get them, and which to avoid.

Building a moss terrarium that actually lasts

The build-it-properly companion to the terrarium overview: layers, mosses and the mould battle, from jars I have kept going for years and a few I have not.

Can you keep moss as a houseplant?

Why moss browns on a windowsill, why a closed jar is the answer, and how to keep it green indoors.

Why is my terrarium moss dying?

Browning, white mould, fogged-up glass, leggy growth: the common terrarium problems, each with a cause and fix.

How I make a kokedama: the Japanese moss ball, step by step

My step-by-step method for the bound-root moss ball, mix and all, learned over a good few tries and a couple of soggy failures.

How to identify moss

Get past 'it's a moss'. A hand lens, the features that matter, and how to start naming what you find.

Acrocarpous and pleurocarpous mosses

Cushion-forming or carpet-forming? The two growth forms of moss, how to tell them apart, and why it matters.

Moss, lichen, liverwort or algae?

The green stuff on the wall is not always moss. The simple features that separate moss from its lookalikes.

Liverworts: moss's quieter cousins

Moss's near relations, sharing the same damp corners. The flat green ribbons and leafy lookalikes that fool moss-hunters, and how to know them.

Collecting moss responsibly

Where you may gather moss, how much is fair, and the sites and rules to respect so you do no harm.

How to photograph moss

Getting close to the small green world: light, angle, focus and patience, with a phone or a proper camera.

What is moss?

The plain answer. What moss is, the sort of plant it counts as, why it has no flowers, roots or seeds, and what to call it.

Do mosses have roots?

No, and the fine brown threads that look like roots only hold the plant on. Where a rootless moss gets its water and food, and why that changes how you grow it.

Growing moss from spores

Can you grow moss from spores like seed? Sort of. What works, what does not, and the faster fragment route.

How fast does moss grow?

Slower than you hope, faster than you fear. Realistic timelines, what speeds it up, and why it seems to stall.

Sphagnum, peat, and why peat-free matters

How bog moss makes peat over millennia, why digging it up is so costly, and what to use instead.

Moss and wildlife

Nesting material, invertebrate shelter, a damp refuge: how a mossy patch quietly feeds the rest of the garden.

Britain's temperate rainforest and its mosses

The dripping, moss-clad Atlantic woods of Britain's western edge, why bryophytes run riot in them, and why they are now so rare.

The hidden world in a moss cushion

Tardigrades, springtails and a whole micro-ecosystem live in a single moss cushion. A look at the tiny world inside.

Moss and air quality

Moss as a pollution monitor, and the truth about those 'moss walls clean city air' claims.

Moss through history

Cabin chinking, packing, the Iceman, and wartime wound dressings: how moss has served people for millennia.

Moss myths, busted

It kills lawns, harms trees, only grows on the north side? The common moss myths put straight.