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One of these is soot (“black carbon”), which has an effect on global warming that is up to 1,500 times greater than that of CO2. The founders of German-based company Green City Solutions, which has pioneered these “trees”, point out that in addition to binding CO2, moss filters numerous other gases and substances that harm the climate. Moss also cools the environment, because its structure is like a sponge, sopping up moisture and then cooling the atmosphere as it evaporates. “Trees” made of moss are starting to be created in cities, as it absorbs particles and pollutants, too. It is a fantastic carbon sink too.Īpparently half a sq m of moss can absorb a kg of carbon dioxide: a staggeringly high amount, partly due to the surface area of moss being 30 times its size. He pointed out that moss is teeming with biota (mini plants and animals living in it) that we are pretty much unaware of, but which are an important part of the ecosystem. When I asked Jon the best way to get rid of it, he was, not surprisingly, shocked. In the UK, though, we are mainly concerned with killing it. When you view Chelsea show gardens created by notable Japanese horticulturalists, you see houses clad with mosses, and even beds (for sleeping) made of them, as well as splendid moss creations carpeting paths and walls. Moss cushions cover tiny urban gardens, as they also cover the floors of woodland glades. When I was working in Hokkaido in Japan, I visited countless beautiful gardens where moss featured heavily, with verdant swathes of moss carpets, moss walls and water features laden with moss. There are more than a thousand different species of moss in the UK, and according to my neighbour Jon Graham, who is an ecologist and notable moss expert, because of the range of types, you can find a species of moss to suit pretty much any conditions. So, as many gardeners are dramatically changing their mindset when it comes to lawns, are we going to reappraise the benefits of moss, too? Should we really be purging our lawns of this emerald invader? Recently, with wet winters, moss seems to be getting the upper hand. On Gardeners’ Question Time at this time of year, we get many questions concerning moss – mainly as a problem in lawns.