The Mosses of Fairyland
Once upon a time, in a town not so far away, I had a lawn nazi neighbor. He scowled about my dandelions and told me how I needed to weed and feed my lawn with chemicals in order to protect his lawn. I gave into the pressure a couple of times, and I tried to be the perfect neighbor with the perfect lawn, but I just never fit into that role. I felt terrible about the chemicals going into the groundwater or worse getting on the paws of passing-by animals. I tried using special instruments to extract lawn weeds, but that process just wore me out. In the end, I adopted my Mom’s view of lawn maintenance: a mowed lawn looks great even if it’s filled with weeds. I just made sure we kept the lawn mowed or at least tried to be beat the dandelions from getting too tall and flowery.
Though I do not aspire to lawn perfection, I do have a dream for my lawn. I want my lawn to be nothing but moss. Not only would I save a fortune in gasoline for the lawn mower, but my yard would look lush all the time. Thick carpets of moss would coat the ground, the trees, brick pathways, and stone statues. It would choke out the ever-present dandelions. It would feel soft under my feet. No one would criticize the height of my lawn. I wouldn’t have to worry about scowling neighbors or ticks hanging around in tall grasses.
With a moss lawn, I really could imagine that I live in Rivendell, Ferngully, or Endor. Scratch Endor! I don’t want to live with Ewoks. My lawn would be a magical place, and my home would be the center of a magical world. I guess that would mean that I’d need to clean my house. Oh well, all fairy tales have dark sides. Still, I dream of a moss lawn.
Looking around online, I noticed that moss has the reputation for being a weed. The term weed is not always a negative thing. It just speaks to the invasive nature of the plant. I like that moss can be invasive. That gives me hope! My front lawn already has lush moss mixed with grass in the shady areas. I am hopeful I can encourage the moss to spread.
I stumbled across an article on Southern Living’s website about growing a moss lawn. I’m definitely tucking that away as a reference. I do have a lot of shady parts in my yard, and I have areas where grass doesn’t grow readily. I am concerned about moss’s need for lots of moisture, but the moss I do have seems happy so maybe there’s enough moisture to work on expanding mossy patches.
Maybe one day, I will walk into my yard, and Lord Elrond will walk toward me, saying “Welcome to Rivendell.” It’s a nice dream. Yards are filled with dreams.
