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Japanese Gardens, particularly Japanese rock gardens, are ideally suited for moss. Moss Acres now offers these tranquil, yet elegant plants, which are perfect for designing Japanese rock gardens of your own. Originating long ago, Japanese garden design has incorporated moss and rock formations into many types of their gardens – Japanese Zen gardens, Japanese water gardens, and of course, Japanese rock gardens.

Japanese rock gardens have been utilizing the calming abilities of moss for centuries. The vibrant green, lush plant is like no other; capable of surviving the harshest of conditions, it is extremely easy to grow and maintain, and lasts all year long! It truly is the most beautiful evergreen groundcover. The Japanese have utilized moss in their rock gardens for centuries, and now, with the help of Moss Acres, you too can experience the breathtaking beauty of moss gardens.

For centuries, moss has been a central and crucial element in Japanese rock gardens, the earliest of which originating in ancient Japanese culture. In Japan, each element of the rock garden is symbolic; stones represent mountains, sand represents water, and moss represents islands. The moss and stone are organized into groups and positioned in the sand; often times they correspond to actual surroundings. Using a highly stylized method, designers of Japanese rock gardens seek to duplicate the tranquility of nature, and, through meditation, take the viewer of the rock garden to a peaceful, serene place. When one witnesses Japanese rock gardens, it is very easy to see why moss is used in this way. The calm, vibrant green plant creates a wonderful mood and is able to connect anyone to nature through its tranquility.

Thankfully though, you don’t have to travel to Japan to experience the tranquility of Japanese rock gardens; Moss Acres can provide you with all the moss you need to create your own Japanese rock garden in your own backyard!

There are many shade garden plants that could be used in Japanese rock gardens, but moss is without a doubt, one of the best. The soothing visual effect realized with Japanese rock gardens is only enhanced further by mosses, as they provide a very neat and tailored look, and are deep, vibrant shades of green almost all year long. Even during periods of severe cold, moss, unlike grass, remains a dark green color. Excessive heat or lack of rainfall, also have no permanent effect. During these difficult growing periods, moss plants simply go dormant. A summer shower always quickly restores them back to their original state.

Mosses are shade garden plants that have been used in Japanese rock gardens for centuries, but only recently have been utilized in the United States. Adequate shade is required if the moss is to thrive, but hair cap moss and fern moss will tolerate a fair amount of sun, particularly during the morning hours and late afternoon. When designing Japanese rock gardens, one should first consider the orientation and exposure of the garden if shade garden plants like moss are being considered.

The contemplative nature of Japanese rock gardens is perfectly aligned with the very essence of moss, so as you begin to design and source materials for your very own Japanese rock garden, moss should certainly be considered. If you desire a peaceful Japanese rock garden of your own, let Moss Acres provide you with our numerous mosses and other shade garden plants.

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