Moss Gardening in Houston
The Texas Gulf Coast is one of the hottest and most humid climates in America. It offers many opportunities for moss landscaping in Houston. Of the many different ways to landscape with moss, perhaps the most satisfying is moss gardening.
In Houston, this can be done very easily because moss thrives in conditions that quickly kill other species. Most prefer the shade, but there are exceptional species that thrive in sunlight. This encourages moss gardening in both shady and sunny areas. The only real requirement is humidity, which we have in abundance.
Because there are thousands of species of moss, landscaping in Houston can be done anywhere within your property line. Moss species of various other colors can be planted like flower beds. Moss can be used to decorate outdoor architecture as well. It can grow on masonry walls like ivy, or it can grow in planters like potted plants. It can even decorate Bonzai trees as imitation shrubbery, grasses, and flowering plants.
Moss landscaping in Houston is often used to embellish courtyards with an organic presence. Regardless of the particulars of its design, any outdoor courtyard will always consist of a blend of natural elements and inorganic materials. By planting moss on stepping stones, fountain bases, courtyard walls, and even statuary, we can make a brand new courtyard look hundreds of years old.
Such a design makes for a superb entry garden for a home with distinctively Old World architecture. It is also ideal for a couple’s courtyard set far in the back of the yard as a private retreat from the pressures of daily life and modern time.
Moss landscaping in Houston can also be done by planting gardens of moss in portions of the yard that are too dark and asymmetrical to serve another purpose. Such areas are typically located near a large home. There is a portion of the ground that never gets any real sunlight. Often, it also lies adjacent to another structure, such as a wall, a garage, or another landscaping feature.
Because normal vegetation cannot grow here, moss gardening is often the best way to transform an otherwise sterile patch of empty soil into something that is vibrantly alive with color. This is similar to the way that shade gardens are planted under tall trees that block sunlight, although there is one very important difference.
Many shade resistant species are very high maintenance. Creating the same level of growth, the same vibrancy in color, and eliminating personal maintenance concerns is a clear advantage that a moss garden offers over traditional garden design.
Finally, keep in mind that moss landscaping in Houston yards can also be done in the most simplistic manner that follows the course of nature. In forests, we often see the earth covered in a carpet of green moss growing under the trees. In exactly the same way, we can plant a carpet of moss under your trees where lawn grass has previously been unable to grow.
Such an area can become a very special place for you to retreat from the world. With only a few stepping stones, a stone bench, and maybe a small fountain, you can literally step out under your trees and be surrounded by a world of green and color that looks like a dream from another time.
