Introducing into the Garden: Lungwort

The next new addition to my garden from my mother in law's is lungwort:

(ok, so it's not at its prettiest here, because the flower show was over when I got it, and I had to plop it in the not most amazing spot... full of spiderwebs now, thus the not usual closeup pics I like to do.  Note the cool hairy leaves though!)  (Also, please look at the other links of the pics of lungwort to get a MUCH better idea of its grandeur)

I've got an eye for striking looking plants I think (meaning I'm only good at identifying those types of plants, more mundane looking plants and I'm worthless) and lately it feels like I've been seeing lungwort everywhere lately (at the Master Gardener's hoe-down, in Botanical gardens, yada) like once you see one red head, you notice 5 of them all at once in whatever location you're in (redheads are a bad example, but I like to insert them in here because my husband is one and I love it).

Bad example, I know, but maybe because I've been seeing them a lot they've become somewhat on the the mind and it's as though they want to be with me!  "Take us home, Persephone!  There you can see us everyday in the garden in our full glory!  Come mid-spring winter we will be full of wonderful glorious flowers that will make you happy! Happier than daffodils or even hellebores can make you!"

Whoa, talk about some siren song those things have got there, so I asked for some of those too from my MIL and she kindly obliged :)

Unlike the Campanula that I blogged about last time, no on Dave's Garden gave lungwort any negatives or warnings about invasiveness, so hurray there, plant on other end of spectrum! (We like diversity here in Persephone's garden).

Besides just having cool foliage, I always thought about having lungwort (Pulmonaria saccharat) as an addition to my garden because I'd heard of its supposed medicinal herbal affiliations, which I soon began to suspect as folklore after much research.  As its name seems to imply, it has to with the lungs, and how?  Well, the spottiness of the leaves made ancient herbalists be reminded of disease lungs, and so they thought best that this was the herb to treat such problems (like walnuts and pecans are good for the brain because they resemble the brain.... which is not so far off apparently... but yes, association does not mean fact)

Still a very attractive flower in the borage family (which I am a fan of the herb) so in it goes!

Lungwort should grow no more than 18 inches high and 2 feet wide and is hardy in zones 4a-9b and is perennial (heart).  It is partial to partial sun to full shade and so I've placed it in my little microclimate underneath a canopy of holly bushes where it should keep a good amount of moisture and leaves (which will become leaf mold eventually) and so it will hopefully stay happy there.

Apparently it is cool enough that someone bought it a domain name which is chock full of good info.  Interesting info such as the variegation that is so loved in lungworts, the silvery bits, are actually air pockets underneath the leaves that keep the plant cool.

Eventually I might move the lungwort to a little sunnier spot, but as I am running out of room a bit... it's gonna stay there for now.

Can't get enough of the fuzzy: Moss

Plants, we eat 'em for taste, we like how they smell and look visually for color and texture in the garden, but it's those rare few (like lamb's ears) that that make us feel like children by simply touching them.

Furry-like plants evoke this sort of odd line between plant and mammal, and like cat/dog/rodent owners, it's hard for us to fathom enjoyment in petting a fish or a turtle or snake (sorry amphibian/reptile/aquatic pet owners).

It's like the "cuddle affect," where when you encounter something soft and tickles your fingertips a person just melts and feels soothed.

That's moss for me.

(moss in its natural environment)

Moss is a great little plant--- and useful too:
(1) As many gardeners are familiar with, sphagnum and peat moss are helpful amendments andn growing mediums (though ought to be used/bought from sustainable sources or not used at all)

(2) As peat it's been a cheap renewable fuel source for those in many countries (if harvested properly).

(3) It makes scotch so darn tasty and distinctive.

(4) Sphagnum moss has been used in the past for dressing wounds due to its absorbancy levels and slight antibacterial properties.

(5) It's even forged ahead of its ancient roots to be part of biotechnology!

(6)... of course I had to say it, some varieties are edible!

I allow moss to grow wherever it wishes in the garden, mostly on the north facing brick under the brush by the house and on the soil where it creeps into off the brick and one concrete edgers, really softens things up.

It's surprisingly cold hardy for something so delicate looking, and with a little frost on it, it holds its own visually.

There's a fairly ready supply of moss in my garden and I luckily live near a woods and man-made creek where the moss likes to grow, so I gather some here and there at times and like to use it to make gifts as amusement for myself and others:

(Thrift store assumed to be wedding favor metal basket)

(full basket shot)
(side view of moss squished into lacey metal basket holes)

I've attempted, somewhat unsuccessfully, to propagate moss using the buttermilk/beer method, but maybe I'll try this recipe.

What probably happened (AKA "stupid things I did that you should avoid") is that I spread the mixture on too dry or sunny areas slash I didn't "mist" them enough to make sure they were happy, which means they probably also weren't in a naturally happy location in the first place.

Though moss propagation is slow, it's better to grow your own rather than constantly harvest it from the wild as its slow growth makes it hard for it to recover.

Here are some great examples of moss art/graffti/use:
http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/moss-bathmat-feels-good-looks-great-075565
http://storiesfromspace.co.uk/data/html/mossgraffiti.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/eco-graffiti-london-brooklyn.php
http://www.dwell.com/articles/unauthorized-moss-art.html