Moss Filled Basket Makes Striking Planter

©Nannette Richford

I recently found this wire/metal basket at a secondhand shop and purchased it for a few dollars. I immediately had visions of lining it with moss and using it as a planter.

Last night, I gathered moss from the nearby woods and  and lined the basket using care to press the moss into the wire so that the entire basket was lined. 

Next, I filled the cavity with humus-rich soil that would hold moisture and keep the moss moist.

©Nannette Richford

I then added some seedlings from my greenhouse and tucked them firmly into the soil. As you can see, I used pastel-pink and white petunias with a small dusty miller for contrast.

Today I will visit the plant nursery for a a small trailing plant to spill over the sides. I'm thinking of pale blue Lobelia or white Bacopa, but I may change my mind, depending on what other other flowers I find.

I topped the planting off with a few stones and tucked moss into any openings to cover the soil.

This planter will need to be displayed in a shaded or semi-shaded area and kept moist to keep the moss from drying out, but I have just the spot for that. I will tuck it into a corner of my garden that receives morning sun and falls into the shade by late morning and gets indirect light for the rest of the day.

I have learned from experience that even though full sun is recommended for petunias, mine do remarkably well with several hours of early-morning light and afternoon shade.

​I am looking forward to watching this basket of flowers grow

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