Tuesday 10 October 2017

mossery (with frippery to taste)

Researching the subject for another recent post, I came across the Victorian craze for ferns and mosses (dubbed pteridomania) which went beyond collecting and on to cultivation.
This particularly fine and verdant specimen cleaving to a stone wall near home, dabbled in just the right mix of light and shadow, reminded me of the nineteenth century garden-feature known as the mossery, a covered slatted wood box with northern exposure. Samples stuck into the cracks would grow and fill the box if moistened regularly. Though not able to find plans for a mossery—like a guide for building a proper beehive for apiculturists—I think we’ll experiment and report on success. Meanwhile and alternatively there’s a wide range of moss-centric terrariums and moss-centric forums for one’s emendation—with ostentation and folly (sunken ships and treasure chests in aquaria) to taste.