Holiday

[Oznell]

This glamour girl is me, ha (not!)

Last summer I posted on putting preserved moss in bowls, for a welcome touch of green.  I have several windows that have heat returns, or other structural things that make it impossible to put my normal plants there--  and I love greenery.

Preserved moss is no longer alive and growing-- I guess it's the moss version of dried florals.  It can be soft, spongy, in pretty colors, and will last a number of years. It needs no sun whatsoever, and should not be gotten wet.

I'm posting on it again because I found two Amazon vendors that at least claim that their reindeer moss is treated non-toxically.  That's important if you have kitties like I do.  (I'm weirdly paranoid and still not entirely convinced if my kitties chewed it that it would be harmless, so I'll keep mine on places they don't jump up to...)

Here are the brands that say their treatments and dyes are non-toxic:

Or this brand, Gusaloo--

It's a nice harbinger of spring, and I like experimenting with different types of bowls--  vintage ceramic, wood, modern.  Once I put preserved moss in a glass cloche, but then read that an enclosed space can encourage moisture, which is not good.  This moss needs to be in the open air.

I like the simplest approach.   Fill a favorite container with old plastic or paper bags for fullness, then take sheet moss apart, and shape or mound it around to your liking.

But some, like "Worthing Court" and others, do customize, with flameless candles, stems, charming animals:

The simplicity of this Easter vignette is so sweet--   

Edited to add--  I thought I had put in this picture too, but forgot.   Really like the primitive dough bowl used with several different varieties of moss.  You can use wood with preserved moss, since you don't water it:

Yet another postscript--   My non-toxic Gusaloo moss arrived, and it is NOT as realistic as previous preserved moss I've used--  including Proflora, readily available at Walmart.  Of course, Proflora provides no assurances about non-toxicity, sigh.  But it closely resembled living moss, with variegated color and a little brown mixed in.

Sigh.  I might try the SuperMoss.  If I can just get another one that's more realistic, this current moss can be mixed in and the ultimate look will pass muster.  But anyway, buyer beware.

[FancyPhillyshopper]

I am sorry to say I have moss growing in between my sidewalk cracks, and I scrape it out and throw it away.  I never thought of it as a plant to keep, but rather a bit invasive type of weed that indicates an area that is too damp.  The ideas are certainly interesting!

[PhilaLady1]

The moss looks pretty in these pictures. But something about moss makes me feel icky.  Similar to what @FancyPhillyshopper mentioned, I view moss as an invasive pain that spoils the look of my small patio area that I worked hard on.  I cut it out and sometimes pour bleach on it.  Sorry, Mr. or Ms. Moss, I don't want you around.

[Oznell]

@FancyPhillyshopper ,  and @PhilaLady1 :

Ha, ha, I completely understand not being thrilled with moss as an indoor (or even outdoor) thing.  For some reason, I'm that way about the mushroom craze in decor-- it's slightly disconcerting for me to see mushroom figurines, mushroom pillows etc, all around.  (Although, I like so-called 'mushroom' lamps-- but they are so abstract a shape that it doesn't remind me of the little fungus.)

Even though putting moss in planters has always been around, I suppose it was Restoration Hardware that raised its popularity, and usually in rather sleek, modern-leaning settings:

Even though I'm mostly traditional, I love the look.   I suspect all their moss in bowls is living and growing, as opposed to preserved.

I'm more likely to put mine in vintage bowls, though, as opposed to the concrete look that RH favors.  

The beauty of preserved moss for me,  as opposed to living moss, is that "preserved" looks real and is maintenance free, requiring no sunlight or water, but it gives me "green",  which I crave...