The Environmental Impact of Moss

What are Moss Landscaping Benefits?

When someone mentions landscaping, most people think about grass, terraces, flowers, trees, and shrubs. They often forget the unique advantages of one of the hidden gems of the gardening world: moss. 

Moss is versatile, inexpensive, easy to grow, and surprisingly beautiful, offering many environmental advantages. Moss thrives in shade but can easily tolerate some filtered sunlight.

Here are some reasons to consider this flexible green cushion-like plant.

Moss Is Easy To Grow

Moss is easy to grow and often grows where grass won't. Like the fern, moss is perfectly happy in heavy shade and on the north side of your house. While it prefers shade, moss won't die if exposed to sunlight.

Moss is low-maintenance. The only thing it truly needs is that you keep it clear of debris. It doesn't need mowing, trimming, fertilizer or pesticides. While moss likes wet soil, you don't have to water it too often once it's matured. It can go a long time in dry conditions. Thirsty moss will go dormant, and its green color will fade but not entirely disappear. When it rains, it perks up within hours.

Moss tolerates a wide variety of pH levels and doesn't have to be rooted on flat soil. You can use it on walls, rocks, and roofs. It holds itself in place with thin, root-like projections called rhizoids.

Moss Is Beautiful and Looks Magical

Moss is versatile and stays lush and green all year round. It's a beautiful garden staple in shady and humid areas.

If you've never looked closely at moss, you may not have noticed how many varieties there are. Garden centers in the US carry over 34 species! The most appealing types include carpet moss, cushion moss, sheet moss, hair cap moss, and tree moss.

Lush, green moss is bright and vibrant. You can use it to cover large areas primarily by itself, with perhaps a fern added here and there. Moss can create accents in a flower garden. It can also cover small garden structures for a topiary effect.

The moss green is associated with peace, serenity, and hope. The addition of moss has a settling effect in a lively garden, a stillness amid the energy of the flowering plants. Nothing, either natural or artificial, looks quite like it.

Even when moss goes dormant, it retains some color, and the texture adds interest and character to any outdoor space. It's instrumental in maintaining a garden's beauty over the winter months.

Moss Is an Environmental Hero

A mossy garden doesn't require fertilizer or weed killer. Moss keeps weeds at bay, and you don't have to run a lawnmower over it.

Moss is good for the soil. Its rhizoids hold soil particles together. In a damp or rainy garden, it absorbs up to ten times its weight in water and prevents erosion.

Moss not only absorbs water, it absorbs toxins as well. Sheet, cushion, and other mosses will thrive in areas too polluted for other plants.

You probably don't have a toxic waste site in your backyard, but many homeowners have areas that retain standing water. These can breed bacteria and mosquitoes and can also diminish the quality of the air around them, or smell bad. Moss will absorb the excess water in a low-lying area and make it look better. Wet moss grows fast and can perform a cleansing in a reasonably short time frame.

Beauty, versatility, ease of maintenance, environmental friendliness: what's not to like about moss? Take advantage of this hardworking green beauty when planning your next landscaping upgrade.

Shop Our Moss Selection

Visit our online shop for a wide selection of plants and trees, or come say hi at our store location in Tennessee! We offer fast shipping nationwide so you can start transforming your garden today!

If you have any questions about moss or if you have any other plant needs, don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you!