Out of sheer boredom and because I have a house which is too dark to sustain most houseplants, I have recently taken to making terrariums. I know-- "how very 5th grade science project" of me.
Drawn in by the creations of Etsy seller "BeadStyle", I purchased one of her do-it-yourself terrariums. I was hooked. As soon as she told me I could add native plants to the assortment provided in the kit, I was already combing the property in search of things to add.
The photos below are of plants which are unidentified (by me) and which are growing on my property... as soon as I identify them, I will know whether or not I can add them to an indoor habitat. Any assistance in identifying them would be awesome!
The moss-ball formations which have broken free of the ground make for easy collecting! This was what I first noticed while hunting for plants to add to my terrarium. I am assuming the moss breaks free in light-weight balls so that it can "travel" to new places?
Another area of "loose balls".... so to speak.
Above: Moss-clumps with coyote scat. This moss tends to grow in areas where coyotes do their business.
While out hunting for moss to terrarium-ify, I noticed something very cool. The weird brown dried-mud-looking clumpy moss stuff which is everywhere somehow turned into very springy little clumps of green moss!
The brown yucky looking crust-blobs not only turned green in many places after our rainstorm yesterday, but I also noticed that small balls of the moss popped free of the ground. The balls are made up of tiny star-shaped green leaves.
Above, is an area where you can see both dormant and active moss-balls. The moss-cluster areas also tend to accumulate an assortment of other little plants. I am guessing that this is because the moss prevents soil erosion and holds moisture.
The photo above is what the mossy areas usually look like : just crusty areas of brown blobby gunk. Not too attractive, right?
One of the trees that overhangs the moss field has at least 6 different types of tree-moss.
Different angle of the same moss-covered tree. Lousy time of day to be photographing, but I will certainly add more pictures soon of this particular tree and its green booty.
Look who was living under the old aerobics step! So much for my clean-up efforts today. I was hoping to make the area where I photograph critters a little more attractive, but I will give these guys a day or two to find a better home.
Some better photos of tree moss.
Above: The terrarium-friendly moss I discovered after the rainstorm went right back to being ugly and brown after a few dry days!
I am giving this moss a try in one of my terrariums. It's got a nice sage green color and a cool shaggy texture.
