Tiny, Enchanted Garden

  It is a well known fact with my family that I am fascinated by mosses, ferns, lichens and the such.  Darling Daughter is much the same.  Elizabeth and I will tromp the swamps and marshes in search of anything interesting.  In fact, the fondness has grown so much that it is a great desire to have moss gardens in place of lawn.  Grass is boring.  Mosses are not.  They are magical!

  This morning while out walking the old dog, the ground shimmered with a gilding like none other. Normally this area is a deep, velvety green but, in the early spring, the carpet moss is almost gold.  This is because the moss had shot up its sporophytes!  These are tiny growths on the female moss that are actually "baby" mosses waiting to happen.  They appear to be tiny stalks with a capsule at the top.  Since they cannot support themselves at this point they literally "feed" off "Dear Old Mom".  The female moss (yes, these mosses reproduce sexually and asexually) supports the sporophytes until they are mature and the weather is perfect.  Then, the capsules will burst open and spores will scatter about the place with the aid of the wind.  The spores will fall to the ground and become either male or female mosses.  When reproducing asexually, a small portion of moss may be separated from the clump.  This piece can grow into a new moss.  

  The carpet moss is aptly named as it does indeed "carpet" the ground and appear to be a nice, soft rug.  If conditions are right, the carpet moss can reproduce and spread rather rapidly.   Mosses do require a good bit of water to flourish which is why they are readily found on creek banks, in swamps and, in my case, on a bayou.   However, since they draw most of their water from the air, the ground does not necessarily have to be soggy.  The weather this past year has been perfect for moss-growing.  The often rains and heavy fogs have kept it wet enough to support the growth and reproduction.  

  Personally, I think if the entire place was covered by mosses, it would be ideal.  After cutting grass for the past two days, it would be nice to have the ever neat and trim mosses covering the yard.  No more mowing!  Hmmm...that might be some of the allure but, overall, I think it would just be enchanting!