• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Heavy Petal

Gardening for everyone

  • About
  • Journal
  • Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
You are here: Home / How To / Moss Graffiti

Moss Graffiti

December 21, 2005 by Andrea Bellamy 5 Comments


I’ll just say it right off the bat: I love moss. I’ve always loved it. When I was a kid, there was a clearing in the forest I lived next to, and in the centre was a stone absolutely thick with the most beautiful emerald-green moss. I was convinced (and still secretly believe) that faeries congregated there. It was definitely a magical place.

So I really don’t understand the effort expended to rid lawns of moss. My father-in-law, upon seeing my sad excuse for a lawn for the first time, said, “you need some moss killer.” Horrified, I replied, “But I love the moss! I’m trying to get rid of the grass!”

Anyway, I came across a novel use for moss and thought I’d share: moss graffiti. It’d be a great use for all that moss starter medium you’ve been brewing up. You haven’t? Oh. Well, you might want to try it if you’ve got a bare-looking log or rock in nice shady, damp area in your garden, or if you want to make your terracotta pots look aged, or if you’d like to start a moss garden. Here’s my recipe:

Quick Moss Starter

  • Take a clump (a small handful) of healthy moss from your yard (or ask a neighbour for some if you don’t have any) and crumble it into a blender.
  • Add 2 cups of buttermilk and 2 cups of water
  • Blend at the lowest speed until it is completely mixed and the consistency of a thin milk shake (add water if necessary)
  • Paint the mixture onto rocks, logs, pots or statuary, or simply pour it on the ground wherever you’d like your moss to grow

So, the idea of moss graffiti is that you apply this moss milkshake to your chosen canvas and create a design or object out of moss (as in the photo above). Imagine the possibilities! I’m picturing moss wallpaper a la William Morris (outdoors, of course!)

Via Make.

Related posts:

Filed Under: How To, Resistance is fertile Tagged With: guerilla gardening, moss, moss graffiti, moss graffitti, moss grafitti, moss paint, moss slurry, moss starter

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I love Moss too says

    November 7, 2008 at 9:46 am

    Thank you for the recipy! I will be propagating a garden to invite a congragation of faries and elves!

  2. Irene says

    January 28, 2009 at 4:09 am

    Hi! I am so glad to hear that someone else loves the look of moss, and that I am not the only one who thought of faries living in the lush green of it. Thanks

  3. Mandy says

    April 18, 2009 at 7:32 am

    You freakin rock! I have a genuine passion for moss (and lichens as that is what started my passion for moss). I started a moss garden about five years ago and I am always looking for a new twist, something really cool. However, I often find people are trying to rid us of our little bryophyte friends. So refreshing to run into this grafitti idea. I am thinking Kanji on rocks or garden stones. Hows that for a yin and yang idea. Japanese Zen and a little “Heavy Petal Grafitti” if you will. Thanks for the idea and for sharing your appreciation for moss.

  4. Steiner agnes says

    August 19, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    BRAVO! génial l’idée!
    j’aimerai plus de documentation,
    merci

  5. midnitechef says

    September 27, 2011 at 10:57 am

    The moss graffiti is an awesome idea, I wish it wasn’t so darn hot here, moss won’t grow in my yard. Actually, nothing will grow! I will have to search your blog for more tips :)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

My latest book

The bright, illustrated cover of Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
Small-Space Vegetable Gardens by Andrea Bellamy

newsletter

Subscribe to receive occasional email updates (I promise never to spam you!)

Reader Favourites

Round, cookie-dough-like balls of clay and seed

How to make seed balls

Colourful quinoa plants in bloom

Would you grow your own grains?

This proves it. Chickens are hot.

Categories

  • Annuals
  • Blogging
  • Bulbs and Tubers
  • Composting
  • Critters and wildlife
  • Events
  • Garden Design
  • Garden Tours
  • Gardens to Visit
  • Green Gardening & Living
  • Holiday
  • How To
  • Indoors
  • Inspiration
  • Miscellaneous
  • My garden
  • Outdoor Living
  • Pacific Northwest
  • Perennials
  • Ponds & Water Gardening
  • Raving and Whining
  • Resistance is fertile
  • Resources
  • Retail Therapy
  • Shrubs & Trees
  • Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
  • Sugar Snaps and Strawberries
  • Uncategorized
  • Veggies & Edibles
  • WTF?
  • Home
  • About

Copyright © 2022 · Infinity Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in