You would not expect mosses that like moist and shady conditions,
and xeriscape plants that have the opposite requirements, would grow well
together. They do, however, in our Hobbit Garden.
It is called the Hobbit Garden because it is made up of small plants, and they are all growing on top of a stone wall that is only about two feet tall. Both the plants and the setting are diminutive. I wrote a post about it last year, but Hobbit Garden is more settled this year and worth revisiting.
The wall is part of a garden gate and is made up of two sections of stone wall each about six feet long. Here is the gate. You can glimpse the Hobbit Garden on top of the low wall.
_Fotor.jpg "Garden Gate")
One native plant has started to get established on top of the wall through the other plants: Scutellaria parvula, a diminutive sculcap. The wall has the advantage of bringing these small plants up closer to the human eye and nake them easier to admire.
Inside the gate, the base of the wall is shaded on one side and sunny on the other. Maidenhair spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes), a native to our area that grows in limestone crevasses, does well on the shady side. The sunny side is mostly colonized by sedums.
It is called the Hobbit Garden because it is made up of small plants, and they are all growing on top of a stone wall that is only about two feet tall. Both the plants and the setting are diminutive. I wrote a post about it last year, but Hobbit Garden is more settled this year and worth revisiting.
_Fotor.jpg "Sedum and mosses growing together") |
| Part of the Hobbit Garden |
The wall is part of a garden gate and is made up of two sections of stone wall each about six feet long. Here is the gate. You can glimpse the Hobbit Garden on top of the low wall.
_Fotor.jpg "Garden Gate")
This garden is made up of various kinds of mosses, sedums, sempervivums and other xeriscape plants.
All these plants can grow together, because mosses survive a lot of direct sun if they are watered regularly. As for sedums and other xeriscape plants, they can put up with a lot of watering as long as they get plenty of sunshine and perfect drainage. No soil was put on the wall, except for what held to the plant roots. Some weeding is required, but it is really minimal (fifteen minutes a few times a year?) as most weeds do not get enough of a foothold .
I had the idea of growing sedums with mosses after seeing Sedum spathulifolium in its native environment in British Columbia. You often find it growing in very wet areas, but in places such as the side of a vertical rock where drainage is perfect. From what grows well in the Hobbit Garden, it would appear that many sedums can survive similar conditions.
One native plant has started to get established on top of the wall through the other plants: Scutellaria parvula, a diminutive sculcap. The wall has the advantage of bringing these small plants up closer to the human eye and nake them easier to admire.
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| Scutellaria parvula |
Inside the gate, the base of the wall is shaded on one side and sunny on the other. Maidenhair spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes), a native to our area that grows in limestone crevasses, does well on the shady side. The sunny side is mostly colonized by sedums.
I've managed to squeeze these sorts of plants in the bottom of the garden, and only tonight admired how they've spread this year.
ReplyDeleteGlad they are doing well for you.
DeleteThis is really encouraging Alain. It's only this year that I've started trying to use a dry stone wall as a habitat for plants. You've certainly made the most of the conditions that you have there.
ReplyDeleteYou need to water regularly. However it had to fend for itself for two weeks this summer and it survived quite well. The mosses tend to dry up but they revive when you start watering again. The sedums and the like probably did better with a break from watering.
DeleteHello Alain, the "Hobbit" garden is like an entire miniature garden contained within your larger garden. It doesn't look like much from far away, but when you get close to it and can see the detail in the pictures, then it looks magic.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, there is a surprise effect as you see it only once you are right over it.
DeleteWhat a diversity of colours and textures, shapes and sizes. You've really showcased these little plants. And no, I never would have thought that moss and sedums could grow happily together.
ReplyDeleteWhat is nicest about it is that it is just about maintenance free.
DeleteI'm hoping that my Living Lid will look like his one day. It's a tray planted with sempervivums and sedum that sits on top of the pond filter and filled with pebbles. Maybe I should add some of the other plants that you have used too.
ReplyDeleteI have two kinds of sempervivums on the wall. I would say that the crucial thing is drainage. As long as all the water drains off they should be OK. The mosses help other plants get a foothold. They push roots through the mosses and everything gets knitted together.
DeleteAlain this is a gorgeous little garden and calling it the Hobbit Garden is perfect!
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of moss ... these selections are so attractive together.
I had that skullcap at one time but it disappeared after a few years .. it was a beauty.
I love the Maidenhair ferns ... I would love to have a group of small ferns in my zen area .. I once had Korean Rock ferns but they did not survive our winter and I had not worked on micro climating at that time .. I am older and wiser I hope to bend a section of the garden to make plants happy.
YES ! Sparkler echinacea ... one of my dearest cone flowers .. it is over 10 years old and even now I forgot where I purchased it .. the foliage is so pretty too.
Beautiful Hobbit Garden !! I want one too ! LOL
Joy : )
The maidenhair spleenworts are lovely. The grow directly on limestone (no soil or hardly any). They like it alkaline. Having a piece of limestone to grow then on would help.
DeleteI love this! I was wondering how moss and sedum would coexist but your setting seems perfect for them. I love the unexpectedness of this. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tammy.
DeleteAt the base of the orchid house is a cinder block foundation that would probably be a great place for this sort of planting. I just love a new garden project, thank you for such a great idea. Love this post!
ReplyDeleteI hope you can use it. As I said above, one great plus is that it is almost maintenance free.
DeleteWhat a lovely idea, a great name for the garden too. I would never have thought of growing mosses and sempervivums together but they look great.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to manage quite well. The mosses suffer more than the sedums but they are easily replaced.
DeleteOh my goodness, that is fabulous! I tried to get something like that started in garden pots, but most of the plants perished during our severe winter. Do you cover your Hobbit Garden during the winter, or protect it in any way? I suppose potted plants might be a little more vulnerable. Your Hobbit Garden is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI do not cover it in winter and it does not include any "soil". The moss I collected around the garden where it already grew on rocks and most of the sedums (stonecrops!) were just cuttings. I would lift a clump of moss and put the bottom of the sedum cuttings under it. They quickly root and start growing but they don't grow lush as there is no soil. In early spring one or two small patches of moss might have been blown off by the winter wind. I just replace them. I just have plants that are very tough and can cope growing on stone with hardly any soil.
DeleteI love your Hobbit Garden, Alain!
ReplyDeleteit's a good idea to plant sedums near moss. I have some sedums and always think where to move them better. Thank you for sharing!
I am glad you like it!
DeleteI love sempervivums Alain but unfortunately the birds keep pulling mine up!
ReplyDeleteSomehow birds seem to do a lot more damage in the UK than here. Here just now goldfinches are poking holes in the beetroot foliage, but that is no big deal. I have never seen a bird attack sempervivum! (They will eat raspberries and red currants though, specially waxwings - but fortunately, not black currants).
DeleteThat is absolutely divine! I love seeing plants growing in walls, but the Hobbit garden is so beautifully planted it has really inspired me. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you like it. It needs to be watered regularly but is very easy to maintain.
DeleteLove the mosses and maidenhair. Is there a cave with a dragon's treasure in this hobbit garden?
ReplyDeleteI have not found it yet!
DeleteInteresting little project with your dry wall Alain, it always amazes me that some plants will seed themselves into this environment and thrive depending on the micro-climate.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing. Actually, after I had published the post, I noticed two or three more small things that had seeded themselves.
DeleteI think that the Hobbit Garden is perfect name. This is one of my favourite types of gardens. You certainly hit on the most important condition for a happy marriage of these two different sets of plants: good drainage!
ReplyDeleteHi Alain....ich mag diese Hauswurzen (sagt man in Deutschland) sehr gerne...sie sind sehr widerstandsfähig und brauchen eigentlich wenig Pflege....
ReplyDeleteBei Sedum verhält es sich ähnlich...ich hab das sogar zur Begrünung eines Daches verwendet ...
Viele Grüße aus Germany (Bavaria near Nürnberg )
Vielen Dank für Ihren Kommentar. Ich liebe Sedum viel, wahrscheinlich, weil die wachsen gut für mich.
DeleteViele Grüße aus Kanada ( wenn man sich eine Karte der Großen Seen aussehen , werden Sie einen schmalen Halbinsel zwischen Lake Huron und der Georgian Bay zu sehen , das ist, wo ich wohne - im Wald , weit weg von jeder Stadt) ..
Hi Alain....ich mag diese Hauswurzen (sagt man in Deutschland) sehr gerne...sie sind sehr widerstandsfähig und brauchen eigentlich wenig Pflege....
ReplyDeleteBei Sedum verhält es sich ähnlich...ich hab das sogar zur Begrünung eines Daches verwendet ...
Viele Grüße aus Germany (Bavaria near Nürnberg )