Product Description

This handsome guide, written by an ever-practical expert on shade gardening, "tells almost as much about the mechanics of moss gardening as the Kama Sutra does about dancing."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #217922 in Books
• Published on: 1997-03-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 262 pages

From Booklist
Schenk, author of three other horticultural books, points out that traces of moss have been found in 400-million-year-old fossils. There are 15,000 living moss species, 1,200 of them in North America. Schenk defines the varieties of moss plants and follows with chapters on moss gardens in Japan (a garden in Kyoto was designed in the fourteenth century) and on gardens in Europe and North America. There are chapters on mossy rocks, moss carpets, alpine gardens, growing moss in containers, and the use of moss as ground covers beneath bonsai trees. Schenk lists approximatety 60 plants alphabetically by genus, with advice on propagating, cultivating, and transplanting. Includes 97 color photographs. George Cohen

Review
"Read [this book] if you want to gain a healthy respect for and excitement about mosses."
—Joel M. Lerner, Washington Post, February 17, 2001 (The Washington Post )

"Schenk has a gift of gab as great his gift of vision. He introduces his subjects enticingly, then starts to get technical ...Indeed, there is much more here than any one of us would suspect possible. The photographs, too, are amazingly varied, considering they are all of moss ...Schenk's book will open our eyes and instruct our fingers. His own dirt-stained hands are his offered proof of his right to write this book — and a most convincing one."
—Ann Lovejoy, Seattle Times, February 1, 2000 (Seattle Times )

"The book's best feature is its stunning close-up photography. High-quality color photographs by the author and others lovingly bring these tiny plants into view. These modest plants are anything but humble when seen close-up. For those of us who see beautry in a moss carpet or a lichen-covered rock, here, finally, is a book worthy of a place on the gardening shelf."
—Jim Bennett, Fine Gardening, January/February 1998 (Fine Gardening )

Read [this book] if you want to gain a healthy respect for and excitement about mosses. Joel M. Lerner, Washington Post, February 17, 2001 (The Washington Post )

Schenk has a gift of gab as great his gift of vision. He introduces his subjects enticingly, then starts to get technical ...Indeed, there is much more here than any one of us would suspect possible. The photographs, too, are amazingly varied, considering they are all of moss ...Schenk's book will open our eyes and instruct our fingers. His own dirt-stained hands are his offered proof of his right to write this book and a most convincing one. Ann Lovejoy, Seattle Times, February 1, 2000 (Seattle Times )

The book's best feature is its stunning close-up photography. High-quality color photographs by the author and others lovingly bring these tiny plants into view. These modest plants are anything but humble when seen close-up. For those of us who see beautry in a moss carpet or a lichen-covered rock, here, finally, is a book worthy of a place on the gardening shelf. Jim Bennett, Fine Gardening, January/February 1998 (Fine Gardening )

About the Author
A former nurseryman and landscaper, George Schenk retired from business to pursue his related passions of designing and planting gardens and writing about them. He splits his time between gardens and residences in Seattle, North Vancouver, Auckland, and Manila. He is a specialist in the sculpture of the tribes of the Philippine Cordillera and is active in the effort to preserve their cultural heritage. Schenk is the author of several magazine articles and books. His book Moss Gardening won the Book Award of the American Horticultural Society; his The Complete Shade Gardener has been recognized by the society as one of America's seventy-five "Great American Garden Books."

Customer Reviews

Good one
I recommend this book to begineers, it is nicely written and easy to understand. Will definitely encourage you into moss growing.

I would have appreciated a mean of identifying the types of moss that already grow in my garden, maybe some magnified pictures ? There are in this book but maybe not close enough. Although there are 15000 types of moss, maybe it is too tricky.

Good book anyway

Moss Gardening is marvelous!
Impressively illustrated with glorious full color photographs of the many & various moods of moss gardening from a tilled sand Zen meditation complete with mossy stones to wild, serene woodlands carpeted with lush colonies glowing in slanting sunshine, this is one Edenesque read. If you know of anyone with moss on their minds, this is a unique love story of one fellow who bent down to earth to study these little green plants. As magnificent as the subject itself. Very well done!

Esoteric, beautiful, reverent book for moss & lichen lovers
This is a beautiful book, and I treasure it. I've shared it with several others who value the green mosses and lichens of the outdoors and they were also impressed. It is high quality paper, every picture (abundant) is in color. The descriptions are thorough. It is a treasured book of mine, one of my favorites for information and for pleasure. The joy of moss and worts.