Making a mossarium.

Mossarium with Japanese Maple.

We, in the hi-desert, had a beautiful spring, with gold cups springing up as far as the eye could see. We also had white chicory, creamy pincusions, golden poppies, and other desert flowers. By mid-June, however, this place will look a lot like the surface of Mars.

There are times when I miss the color green. This year I took matters into my own hands. I went north to Guernville, and while there the woman who owned the AirBNB I stayed at gave me a big ziplock bag full of moss from her property.

I brought it home, enough for two large glass jars.  I put rocks and sand in the bottom, and then a layer of peat-rich potting soil. After that I carefully placed the moss in the jars. One has a Japanese Maple tree sprout (pictured).

The jars are covered, which keeps in the moisture. They get the morning sun only; the rest of the day just normal room lighting. They've already started to settle and grow. When I made one a few years ago for my husband's office space, a mushroom sprouted and it imprinted onto the side of the glass. It was beautiful.

Mossariums are beautiful and cheering in themselves, but I would be interested to know how others might use them in various workings.

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Psalm 1:3