A few weeks ago, I visited an Arts & Crafts Show. I was immediately drawn to a gorgeous booth filled with antique moss-covered Hypertufa garden sculptures.
A White Lily leaf with moss filling the crannies of the porous sculpture was highlighted on the shelf for all gardeners to admire.
I was drawn to large, unique Garden Mushrooms. A shade garden is being planned for Spring 2020. These garden mushrooms would certainly complete the design.
How do I make them moss-covered to add more character? The artist suggested finding some live moss and adding it and plain yogurt to a blender to form a thick paste. Then moisten the mushrooms and paint each cap and crannies with the moss yogurt paste.
So, earlier today, I set out to find the moss before the snowstorm arrived and made the moss paint paste.
I took my time carefully painting the moss paint into every nook and cranny, hoping the moss spores would attach. The garden mushrooms were then placed in LaLa's large Fairy Garden. Fingers crossed, the moss spores will take root with daily light misting and filtered light. I will keep you informed if this process is successful. If so, it can be used on your garden's large boulders, bird baths, and porous Pots.
For those who may need to learn what Hypertufa is precisely,
it is a mixture of Portland cement, Vermiculite, Perlite, and water. Nylon fibers are added for extra strength.
Plant leaves, mushroom caps, and stems are pressed into the mixture to create rubber molds and are cured for 30 days. Over time, the sculptures develop a weathered rustic look and can be left outside. The Hypertufa was invented to replace the scarce, expensive antique feed water troughs hand-carved out of volcanic rock. The stone troughs made exquisite and desirable planters in English Gardens.
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