A Mossy Wig. :)

I just noticed in the last couple of days that our little Buddha statue is growing a fine covering of moss. I'm not being disrespectful, but doesn't he look sweet..... even with that little half smirk, caused by the effect of weather and erosion! Mother Nature must know how fond I am of moss.

These two photos were taken during a quiet five minutes before planting potatoes, sowing pea seeds, potting on dozens of plants from the greenhouse, planting in the garden, wrapping items for eBay, striding up to the post office to post the said packages, walking the dogs...... after all that, I couldn't face dragging out the vacuum cleaner so I disappeared off to the allotment knowing full well that hubby would do it when he came home from work! I know, I'm shameless! lol

If you click on the second photograph to enlarge it you can spot the butterfly on the purple plant. I was just about to take a close-up photo of it but it fluttered off.

A fairy in my garden.......

This delightful little fairy was a gift from my parents. I didn't want to put her just anywhere where she would most probably be overlooked, so I made her her own special 'garden' in a large pot that now sits on the patio. She's in a prime spot and we can keep our eye on her from the sitting room.

I got the moss from the grounds of a nearby hotel that was knocked down some months ago and didn't feel too bad helping myself to it, knowing that the area is due to be cleared soon to make way for new shops and houses, so really I acted in the name of conservation. :D

In the pot there are four different kinds of moss, but I don't know any of their names. I did try to get a book on mosses, lichens and liverworts on eBay but was outbid! lol I'll try for another one because mosses fascinate me and I'd love to learn more about them. I've seen a fabulous book by George H. Schenk (Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts and Other Miniatures). It's full of advice on growing moss, identification, etc. with glorious colour photographs ..... maybe I'll put my pennies aside until I can get that one.

Also in the pot is Sisyrinchium californicum (pronounced sissy-rin-ki-um) - that's the plant with the small swordlike leaves. From May onwards, it produces masses of yellow star-like flowers right up until October. The blue flower, although not clear in the photograph, is the blue form of Anemone blanda. It's a daisy-like flower. If you look closely at the top right-hand side of the picture, you'll see a twig. That is actually a baby tree with a couple of buds waiting to open. I pot up tree seedlings from the garden especially for projects such as this.

I may have to offer the mosses some protection in the form of fine netting, just until it gets established as the blackbirds have already thrown some of it out the pot. I stuck the moss on the stone with margarine!

Christmas 2008

What better day to begin a blog than Christmas day. I suppose any day is a good one, but Christmas day seems special and a good starting point.

It's been a warm day with some sunshine so I took my camera out into the garden to see if there was anything pretty to photograph. There was an orange primula in flower but it had been pooped on, courtesy of the birds we feed several times a day. So I took some photos of mosses on a stone trough. Did you know that there are over 12,000 species of moss? Neither did I; I've just googled it. lol It's amazing, I usually think of moss as a small fluffy green plant..... I had no idea there were so many different kinds!

So Christmas 2008 is almost over and I hope the little wren that was in our greenhouse earlier has made its exit. Don't worry, we left the door open slightly and I shouldn't think it will like the smell of paraffin!