The Magical World of Moss Gardening

Martin, owner of North Carolina–based landscaping firm Mountain Moss, presents the visual and tactile wonders of moss gardening. The pluses include no ravaging deer, no mowing, and no wintertime dormancy to subtract from what Martin declares are the medicinal and spiritual attributes of moss’s brilliant green color. Martin addresses the “magic” of moss; tours moss gardens, including her own; lightly lectures on bryophyte basics; introduces 25 mosses to gardeners; presents garden designs (including fairy gardens); teaches planting and propagating, weeding, watering, and fluffing; and encourages walking on mosses as part of their maintenance. Martin’s style of prose is neighborly yet knowledgeable, with a distracting fondness for alliteration. In this informative guide to a unique style of garden, the photos steal the show. Photos. (Sept.)