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Peaceful mossy path bordered by shade perennials and accented by garden ornaments such as this sundial. |
A couple of weeks ago, the Horticulture staff from
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden went on a wonderful field trip to Norie Burnet's moss garden,
Eden Woods.
After finding that her 4-acre wooded lot in Bon Air was too shady to
grow grass, Norie decided to nurture the moss that was naturally
occurring, and she has been doing so for almost 25 years.
Norie is
definitely a gardener with an artist's eye. She creates interest with
sweeps of varying textures and endless shades of green. She spoke to us
about balancing textures, colors, and shapes in the garden. She also
adds whimsy to the garden by tucking fairy houses into shady corners.
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Sweeps of perennials show the artist-gardener's attention to balance, texture, color, and mass. |
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Whimsical fairy houses can be found tucked in shady corners of this peaceful garden. |
Norie has identified 14 different types of moss in her garden, but she
has much more than just moss. We were delighted to find a very diverse
collection of woodland perennials and we were surprised that some tender
perennials proved to be hardy in her garden.
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A diverse collection of shade-loving perennials complement the mossy paths. |
We learned that moss gardens are NOT zero-maintenance gardens, but that
they require a different type of maintenance than a traditional garden.
Norie taught us that "with grass you mow, with moss you blow." Moss
cannot survive under a thick layer of leaf litter, so keeping the debris
cleared with a leaf blower is essential. Moss also likes to be damp.
If it dries out too much, it will turn brown, so watering with
sprinklers is necessary in times of drought. As with any garden,
weeding is also necessary. Norie told us that the beauty of moss
gardens is that you can selectively leave "volunteers" that are growing
up through the moss. If it were a lawn, some of her favorite volunteer
perennials such a
Aquilegia (columbine) and ferns would have been mown down. In her garden, they can live in happy harmony with the moss.
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Norie Burnet explains maintenance tasks in a moss garden with LGBG horticulture staff. |
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Norie Burnet selectively allows "volunteers" such as this patch of ferns to live amongst the mossy "lawns." |
While a few of the shady corners of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden have
moss naturally occurring, Norie definitely gave us all the inspiration
to go a step further. Now that we know some of the essential
maintenance tasks required to keep a moss garden healthy, we look
forward to nurturing our native mosses. Keep an eye out in the future
areas that might be transformed into mossy oases!
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Moss creeps between the slate stepping stones. |
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Shades of green and varying textures create beauty and interest in the garden. |
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A shady path in Norie Burnet's moss garden, Eden Woods. |
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