Question
LIG....Just why does everyone want to get rid of moss between stones in their yards...I'm trying to get it to grow between the blue stone in my tiny yard...which doesn't get a lot of sun...does moss create any problems?  It's also growing on some of the old brick edging...which I think is kind of neat...or maybe I should live in the South for this instead of NJ!  

Answer
Not everybody wants to get rid of moss, Linda - just people who don't know any better.

I shouldn't really say that of course.  Moss can shorten the life of a roof, gets slippery when wet, and will do real damage to a lawn if it spreads.

I have a friend who tried (with no help from me) to grow moss between flagstones leading up to his East Hampton weekend retreat.  Not a single gardener (present company excluded) could grow moss between those flagstones.  I am sure however that the weekend snow-shoveler pummelled the steps and stones with rock salt all winter long, and that fairly wiped out all chances of ever growing anything on those steps, forever.  But he did not ask me.

Who knows, perhaps they will read all about it right here.

Drew, are you reading?

OK, Linda, back to your moss.  Martha Stewart makes sure all her pots are moss-covered before they show up in front of any TV cameras.  It's the I-just-grabbed-this-off-the-greenhouse-bench look.  And it's beautiful!

Recipes abound, but the best ones use a blender. I confess I have not done this yet... but what am I waiting for?  I think I can squeeze this into tomorrow's schedule.

See the link at The Artistic Garden (www.the-artistic-garden.com/how-to-grow-moss.html) which has the traditional Buttermilk Recipe.

One approach I like to take is to see what people are doing "right" when they complain they have moss in their garden.  Moss grows in soils with a low pH (acidic) that are compacted, have poor drainage, and are low in nutrients.  To lower the pH, a dose of Starbucks Coffee Grounds will make the area moss-friendly.

Some people make entire lawns out of this stuff.  I think that's going a bit far -- and it would not fly in my landmarked neighborhood.  But in selected sites, near a birdbath, around rocks and flagstones, I agree with you, it is absolutely, positively beautiful.

---------------------
Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.
?Henry James