When was the last time you stopped during a walk and looked closely at the tufts of tiny green leaves growing on the sidewalk or on the trunk of a tree or on a humble rock? Have you found yourself staring at a clump of moss in your garden wishing it were gone? If you wish to know more about mosses–and perhaps gain a bit of appreciation for them–this book is for you.Moss by Ulrica Nordström is a book dedicated to these tiny, ancient plants that first appeared on this planet over 350 million years ago. Coming after green algae and before the vascular plants, mosses are often quite literally looked down upon as a nuisance or as simply less desirable than the more charismatic vascular plants that dominate our collective imagination.
This book is a love letter to mosses. Nordström’s love of these “comforting” plants is clear with page after page giving careful attention and consideration to these oft-overlooked plants that blanket much of our world. promises, “once you have entered the exciting world of moss, you will want to see more of it.”
Moss includes information for those interested in learning to identify mosses, including useful tools to bring to the field, along with photographs, illustrations, and key characteristics of some of the most common species of moss. A large portion of the book is devoted to moss gardens around the world–including Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island–and care-filled spotlights of some of the gardeners who are responsible for those gardens and who also clearly fell in love with mosses. It rounds out with projects and ideas for both outdoor and indoor uses for mosses, for those interested in bringing mosses into their own lives.
This has quickly become one of my favorite books. But, I must confess that I’m biased. Mosses are my favorite plants and have been since I was a small child wandering the forests where I grew up. I think mosses have a kind of charisma of their own, the unassuming kind that invites people to pay closer attention to what makes them special. Mosses teach a kind of meditation of presence if we stop moving long enough to pay attention. After reading Nordström’s book, I can’t help but think she’ll be successful in opening up this “hidden world” to many readers.
Reviewed by Nick Williams in the Leaflet, Volume 10, Issue 4 – April 2023