Day 10: Connecting with nature to improve my wellbeing in the dark days of winter – by appreciating the quiet beauty of moss!

The Quiet Resilience of Moss

I’ve always been fascinated by moss. Since my A-level Biology days where we would spend every Monday afternoon drawing different types of plant. Moss was always a firm favourite of mine. Not to mention it looks awesome under a microscope. It’s not showy like flowers or trees, yet it has a quiet resilience that makes it incredibly special. On tonight’s venture into my wildlife garden, I noticed moss thriving on walls, and on the woody stems of the plants in the front border, and even the damp nooks and crannies of the little retaining wall (which is where I took the video). It struck me how green and alive it looks against the otherwise muted tones of winter. Discovering moss on my evening mini adventure reminded me that even in the depths of winter, nature persists and flourishes in its own incredible way.

Moss might not herald the arrival of spring like the first snowdrop, but it offers its own kind of comfort—a reminder that life carries on even in the darkest months. Its ability to thrive in conditions that would challenge many plants feels like a message: adapt, and you’ll find a way. Moss is often a pioneer species where there as previously not been life.

What Exactly Is Moss?

Mosses belong to a group of plants called Bryophytes. They’re ancient, simple plants that don’t have flowers or seeds. Instead, they reproduce through spores, much like ferns. Moss thrives in damp, shady places and plays an important role in ecosystems, helping to retain moisture in the soil and even filtering pollutants from the air. Also, helping to create soil where there was previously none.

There are thousands of species of moss, and once you start noticing it, you’ll see its incredible variety—soft, velvety cushions; trailing, feathery fronds; or even tiny, upright structures that look like miniature forests – that look like tiny Christmas trees. Moss often goes unnoticed because it’s so low to the ground, but when you get up close, its intricate beauty is breathtaking.

Bringing Moss to Your Garden

If you’d like to encourage moss in your garden, then don’t worry it is easy to grow. Moss prefers shady, damp areas with low foot traffic. You can help it along by ensuring there’s no competition from grass or other plants. Some gardeners even create moss gardens by transplanting moss from other areas (with permission, of course!) or growing it on rocks and logs. When I dug my large pond in the back garden, I took some bags of moss that my Dad had raked out of his lawn. I lay this over the stones and logs around the pond and it took really quickly. I subsequently found out if you blend the moss with natural yoghurt. You can paint this mixture onto the area you want to grow moss.

A quick tip: Moss loves acidic conditions, so if you’re struggling to grow it, consider misting the area with rainwater and keeping the soil or substrate slightly acidic.

Why Moss Matters

Moss might not have the star power bringer of Spring of a snowdrop, but its importance in the natural world cannot be overstated. It supports biodiversity, prevents erosion, and adds a quiet charm to the landscape. For me, appreciating moss has been a reminder to look for beauty in the overlooked and to find joy in life’s smaller wonders – as Paulo Cohelo said “The small things in life are the most extraordinary”.

Tonight, spending some time appreciating this unsung plant hero – has brought some light to my dark december day today.