Who isn’t a fan of the calm, peaceful settings that are found in a zen garden? The few times I have visited them, I found it easy to slow my pace and stop to just watch.
…and every time I knew I wanted one.
The blank slate in 2010:
The brand new (to us) house with all of its (lack of) glory! Other that the oddly placed evergreens, there was nothing. Just a concrete pad and a bench sitting beneath the oak tree.
Fast forward 5 years. We decided to work on the shady area around the bench and under the oak since grass was very troublesome to grow even after lifting the skirt of the tree. Solution? Stop trying to grow what doesn’t want to grow and plant that which will; moss.
The lovely living carpet that is moss grows in abundance on our north side. A few different kinds, actually. Transplanting it was easy; removing the grass was a pain in the ass.
Some crocuses for early spring color:
We ordered a feathery type of moss online to try to buy in bulk which has grown ok but the transplanted moss from the side yard is more vibrant and feels better on bare feet.
(Above photo) Feather moss to the right, sheet moss to the left and a few new hostas and ferns
Transplanted moss:
Feather moss:
More grass to remove! And what else would look good amongst the moss? Feet! No, wait…Stone!
The bare spots will fill in quickly…maybe by the end of the autumn, but there is plenty of weeding in the mean time. Moving a good 1200 pounds of stone by hand was rough. Lay the stones, trace around them, dig out the dirt so that they are flush with grade and set them in the ground. Repeat as necessary. We did not lay any landscape fabric nor any sand setting bed as you would for a professional patio. We kept it easy, cheap, quick (lies!) rough and natural.
The landscape drains towards this area. Rainstorms provide plenty of moisture:
Not an average storm! 4″ in 15 minutes. Moss had to be put back into place.
The most important part of this area is the view (still in progress). The oak tree is certainly a focal point, but it needed some additional textures in the form of ferns and astilbe. The ferns were another transplant from the north side. This is clearly the side of the house that giveth the most…eth.
Year 1:
Year 5:
Some companion ferns off to the side after 3 years: ghost fern right, painted fern left:
Lastly, what zen garden is not complete with out a sculpted evergreen?
This area is not complete yet. We’d like to tie in the pompom evergreen with the moss garden in time and the moss itself needs to fill in yet. It is, however, a shady place to relax and enjoy the day, morning and evening. The ambiance that the fire flies offer at dusk is wonderful 🙂
hausemann 