“Small Miracles”
Carolina Home and Garden Magazine
Winter/Holiday 2008
By Kate Reynolds
Sometimes you have to look beyond the obvious to enjoy nature’s gifts. They hide in unexpected
places, waiting for the patient observer to discover them. Take Leslie Henry’s backyard, for
example. From the sidewalk, her tidy contemporary house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Brevard
doesn’t seem the type to harbor secrets. But walk around to the back and you enter into another
world: a tranquil sanctuary where every step is cushioned by a deep, verdant carpet of living
green. Welcome to the moss garden.
Tucked at the base of a steep hillside and set beside a lyrical mountain stream, Leslie’s little
bit of heaven is a tapestry of textures and hues. Shaded by tall trees and bordered by stands of
ferns, it engenders a sense of shelter and peace. The ambiance is hushed and ancient.
The garden is fairly young, however, set in place not by decades of slow growth but in the past
year by the magic touch of Annie Martin, better known as “Mossin’ Annie,” a local champion
and collector of bryophytes—native mosses. “It was designed to create the effect of a miniature
landscape using varieties from more than 450 types of indigenous bryophytes that we have in
Western North Carolina,” Annie says proudly.
Indeed, the effect of looking over Leslie’s moss “lawn” recalls viewing the countryside from the
window of an airplane: hills and valleys, an expanse of forest. There’s a rock garden that stands
in for a mountain range. It is a world in microcosm, presided over by a placid seated Buddha
statue whose benign countenance reflects the abiding spirit of the place.
Leslie has a sense of connection to the orient—her father grew up in China, where his father
worked for the YMCA. Many treasured pieces of eastern art grace the interior of her home, and
eastern philosophies inform her worldview.
“Small Miracles” is a feature article about Mossin’ Annie’s innovative use of
eco-friendly mosses in Leslie Henry’s private Zen moss retreat in Brevard, NC.
Published in Carolina Home and Garden Magazine, Winter/Holiday Issue, 2008.
pp 110-115, the story is written by Kate Reynolds with photographs by Rimas
Zailskas. Special thanks to Kate for capturing moss magic with her eloquent words
and to Rimas for sharing the marvels of the miniature world of mosses through his
outstanding photographs.
Visit Carolina Home and Garden Magazine web site to view Moss article online:
http://www.carolinahg.com/pages/current-issue/holiday-08/small-miracles
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“I do study and practice Buddhism,” she explains, “and my original idea was for a Zen garden.
There was moss here to begin with and because of the mountain it doesn’t get much sun. I’ve
always loved moss and it seemed like the perfect thing to make it all go together and create an
attractive space.”
Mossin’ Annie was the ideal partner in manifesting this vision. Petite and impish, with a penchant
for dressing in various shades of purple, Annie has the air of a charming woodland sprite but is,
nonetheless, a very determined woman when it comes to her beloved bryophytes. Her passion is
the preservation of native mosses.
“We have plenty of opportunities to collect and rescue mosses in Western North Carolina,” she
says. “There’s considerable development that continues to occur. We work with green developers,
the Department of Transportation and people who are environmentally conscious. They contact
us when they’re going to build houses, roads and golf courses and we go in and rescue the
mosses first. The goal is to use them in public or private gardens or, ideally, to reintroduce them
into the community once it’s completed.”
Leslie’s garden is an amalgam of rescued and resident mosses. “Some of the moss was
introduced, but in other areas I took advantage of what was naturally occurring,” Annie explains.
“She inherited some good bones from the previous homeowners, but the rock garden was almost
invisible—it was overwhelmed with hostas.” Carefully edited plantings now punctuate the beds,
set amid the moss hummocks and lichens, like ‘British Soldiers,’ which were added “for extra
accents of delight.”
“Mosses are great companions with every plant,” Annie says. “They’re green year-round, so when
the other annuals and perennials die back, you still have color. They provide a contrast for bright
plants and they’re a great alternative to wood mulch. They don’t leach nutrients from the soil and
they help to retain the moisture and provide insulation from the cold.”
Resilient and low maintenance, mosses literally live on air and water. “The leaf of the plant is
only one cell layer thick,” explains Annie. “It absorbs all of the water. It has no vascular system—
it doesn’t have any roots to absorb water or nutrients. It lives solely on rainfall and dust particles.
So it’s extremely tolerant to all kinds of conditions.
“According to the botanists, mosses are 400 million years older than vascular plants like herbs, so
before there was just about anything else, there were mosses—and they’ll probably outlive all of
us.”
For Leslie, mosses’ sturdy character makes tending to her retreat a fairly simple task. “I do
occasional weeding,” she says, “and [the moss] doesn’t like to have leaves on it, so I pick them
up or blow them off. It needs to be watered fairly often, but it takes very little water. I can just
mist it with the hose and you can see how the green just picks right up.”
Even the mischief of a local skunk, which attempted to rearrange the moss beds one night, was
easily repaired. Uprooted patches were simply put back into place and pressed down firmly
underfoot. “In fact,” says Annie, “the last phase of the moss planting process, after you’ve watered
it, is to step on it, and keep stepping on it. That helps it set itself. And you can sit on it any time
you like—you just might get a wet bottom.”
Annie would certainly encourage everyone to sit down and engage the moss up close. It’s there
that these wondrous plants truly reveal themselves. “You need to take a closer look at mosses,”
she urges, and offers the loupe that hangs around her neck like an amulet. The magnified plants
are exquisitely detailed: some resembling miniature ferns, others like tiny green starbursts.
“The immediate impact of the moss garden is the expanse of green,” she says, “but there is
another element of color that only comes during the sporophytic stage.” Sure enough, at closer
inspection, some of the small mounds are surrounded by halos of spores; a miniature fireworks
display, just inches from the ground.
This just goes to show that sometimes you find amazing gifts in unexpected places, like a
compact backyard on an ordinary street where ancient plants invite you to experience the hush
and share in the mystery of the complex world beneath our feet.
“You don’t have to be a Zen Buddhist in a garden in Kyoto, Japan, to enjoy mosses,” says Mossin’
Annie with a smile. “You can be right here in Western North Carolina and love them too.”
Mossin’ Annie offers workshops, presentations, on-site bryophyte identification and moss rescue,
along with moss garden design.

TO VIEW Rimas’ fantastic PHOTO LAYOUT.... view concdensed online version or get your
own copy of Carolina Home and Garden with a full pictorial layout of mosses. Please share this
article with other moss lovers. Go Green With Moss!

Go Green With Moss --- Moss Dish Garden Workshop
Family Program Series
NC Botanical Gardens, Chapel Hill, NC
Sunday, March 15, 2009

“Go Green With Moss!” Discover the magical world of mosses with Mossin’ Annie at the NC Botanical Gardens on March 15, 2009 at 2 pm. You don’t have to be a leprechaun or fairy to delight in the year-round green of North Carolina’s bryophytes (mosses). In fact, participants of all ages are welcomed to this family event. Annie Martin of Mountain Moss Enterprises will present an informative and fun program about mosses and how they can be used creatively in containers as well as incorporated as focal features in sustainable landscapes. Her impressive photographs will illustrate the variety of our indigenous mosses including both shade and sun lovers. Hands-on specimens will provide the opportunity for a closer look at these fascinating miniature plants. Mossin’ Annie, a moss artist, will provide instruction in creative interpretations, and best of all, each person will create their own personal moss dish garden to take home! Cost: $25 per family. Ages 4 and up... with parents and grandparents. To register, contact: Nancy Easterling, NC Botanical Gardens via email: easterli@email.unc.edu.

MOSS APPEAL: Hendersonville Times, 09-29-08 written by Claudia Lampley
The Hendersonville Times newspaper in Hendersonville, NC ran a feature article about Mossin' Annie and her BIG winners at the NC Mountain State Fair. Please refer to their Web site:
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20080929/NEWS/809280273/1042?Title=Pisgah_Forest_resident_s_moss_creations_win_big#
Many MOSSY THANKS to Claudia Lampley for spreading the word about Going Green With Moss!

It is heartening to receive such positive feedback from my “mossin” friends from all over the world. The following comments have been received directly through emails. I really appreciate all the encouragement as I progress toward accomplishing my goals. THANKS to each of you for all the continued interest and support in Mountain Moss Enterprises' efforts to promote the awareness of the advantages of eco-friendly mosses! GO GREEN WITH MOSS! Keep on Mossin!

Congratulations, Annie! That is wonderful news. I have been thinking about you lately and wondering how your project was coming. I look forward to the posting of your pictures. Please let bryonet know when they are ready.
JG, International Association of Bryologists, Michigan Tech University

Congratulations! You can now add "Award-Winning Gardener" to your many other accolades, titles and nicknames! It looks as if things are really coming together for Mossin' Annie--we couldn't be happier for you. I think I see a PBS show in your future--just remember us little people when you become world famous.
SD and MH, Ash Grove Resort Cabins & Camping, Brevard, NC

Heartiest Congratulations for winning First place for your exhibits of mosses during flower show. really mosses are very fascinating and a good material for horticultural purpose. India is one of the megadiversity centre and exhibits great diversity in flora and fauna. About 2800 species of mosses occur in tropical and temperate parts of our country. Recently we have developed a moss house under controlled conditions in the Botanic Garden of our Institute to educate students and common persons. Lucknow has diverse type of seasons -- extreme summer (May-July)and extreme winter (November-  February). This is an inspiration to me as Head of Bryology Dept. to motivate local people to participate with such exhibits in the Flower Shows organized by our Institute every year in December & January. Good Luck and I invite you to India.
VN, Head Bryology Dept., National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India

Bill and I are very proud of you!  I'm so glad that I'll get to see you, your blue ribbon creations and other moss gardens in just a few days!!
Much love, KMJ (Mossin' Annie's Sister), Annapolis, MD

Excellent! Delightful!. The public "rethinking" moss thanks to your talents and enthusiasm. Keep up the good work.
PD, University of North Alabama

Thanks for the link; I enjoyed watching the clip! Thanks for the photos - and congratulations!
The last few days I have finally got round to updating my own site with some photos I took a year ago (!) on holiday. There was this wonderful piece of dry-stone wall with about 20 species in just a short stretch:http://www.andrewspink.nl/mosses/moresdale.htm
AS, The Netherlands

A big "well done" from us. I've enjoyed your display at the tea shop where we've been several times to buy gifts (a great place for that. We also enjoyed the article in the Transylvania Times a while back. You must be loving what you are doing and I hope it is going very well for you. All the best,
PB and KS, Maud Powell Society

Wow Annie, congratulations! You were a PR in the past, weren't you? Good job, I really liked the video. Thanks for spreading the word about moss! Greetings from Durham,
BS, Duke University Bryology Lab, Blomquist Foray

Congrats! Send us some pics of your moss creations! It's raining here and the moss is smiling :~)
AS, Sticks and Stones Farm, Connecticut

Annie, this is great and should give you considerable press with your key contacts in landscaping. You are certainly doing everything you can to promote, teach, and educate the public about your products and services. Congratulations!
JH, Business Consultant, Blue Ridge Community College Instructor

Congratulations Annie from Devon, England where we have had the wettest August for 60+ years and the moss loves it.
MD, Devon, England

Thanks so much for sharing this link- it made me smile to see you with your mosses! Congratulations on your awards at the fair, too. I hope you're doing well, and keep in touch!
SH, Duke University, Blomquist Foray

Well done! You are on a roll. Thank you for including the photos. I'm looking at our yard a lot differently now thanks to you. Where once I thought I might -- shall we say -- remove the moss, now I'm just letting it be because I want those areas to be entirely of moss.  When things settle down a bit come on over. We've had a lot of work done in the yard. I've left all the moss on the walks and am thinking about transplanting it. It is so magical, rather like the stuff of Celtic legends....  Yes, it is magical AND mystical and there is something wonderfully soothing, comforting and transporting about moss....Doesn't it feel wonderful to be doing what you love?
PB and KS, Brevard, NC

Congratulations !! I also saw this information posted on Bryonet! You are doing very well at getting the idea of mosses into the public eye. I hope all else is going well.
KM, University of Tennessee – Knoxville, Great Smokies Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage

Congratulations on your awards at the Fair. Your creations are beautiful and the incredible mosses are so unique and wonderful. I appreciate all you do for the Master Gardeners. Your signs and posters are great. They are and will be very instrumental in recruiting new Master Gardeners and furthering our goal of educating the public. I certainly do thank you for all your work and effort and enjoy your special talent with mosses.
HS, Fellow Transylvania Master Gardener Volunteer, Brevard, NC

Congratulations!!! Wow. You Go Girl. I love your creations, and am always looking for ways to use moss in my own grove north of our house. Thanks for the inspiration.
KK, Transylvania Master Gardener Volunteer

Congratulations on your honors at the fair! Have you ever presented to the Connestee Falls Community? If not, would you like to? I think you would get a good turn-out.
W, Connestee Falls, Brevard, NC

Hello Mossin' Annie, What a delight to hear your news of 'Best In Show' at the flower competition at the Mountain State Fair. Congratulations, you are truly a winner.
PJ, SCORE, Brevard, NC

I saw the birdbath--it was beautiful. My only complaint is that I couldn't find your name anywhere!CONGRATULATIONS!!! Still talkin' to the designers about incorporating moss. Congrats! More moss exposure!!
AH, Snow Creek Nursery & Landscaping, Asheville, NC

Congratulations on your big win. I hope there was a big cash prize for your effort. When you're doing something as unique and imaginative as you do, it's not terribly surprising.
NH, Waterfall designer, Liquid-Studio, Etowah, NC

We are developing moss in gardens in China. Your experiences are very important. I am very interested in your 2009 moss calendar. If possible, I would like to exchange it with something. There are 12 students in my bryological lab. They are working on taxonomy, morphology, molecular biology and tissue culture.
RLZ,China Normal University, Shanghai, China

My Buddhist teacher from Florida was here for dinner last week. We ate outside (in my Zen moss retreat) and he could hardly keep his eyes off it! I know he loves gardening but he really appreciated the moss.
LH, Brevard, NC

I found your awesome website thru bryonet, and the news segment...so cool! My husband and I are moss lovers in Maryland, and have a two-year-old Japanese style garden in our backyard. Your yard is wonderfully inviting! The sun feature is giving me much hope! Great to know, too, about roundup and aluminum. I've just been hand-weeding all this time, out of fear of killing my little "preciouses" the moss patches. 'm excited to try the aluminum and roundup on this area, because it's too much to weed, and I'm impatient for results too! There's still some old mulch directly around the trunk, which I should probably remove, in favor of hard dirt, do you agree? Happy mossin' to you too!
DS, Maryland

Enjoyed seeing the TV news segment.  Nice bit of publicity for you!
JC, Pisgah Forest, NC

Congratulations from all of us
CN, SCORE, Brevard, NC

Congratulations. I plan to get up to see your creations.
GC, Friends of DuPont Forest

Congratulations, Annie--keep up the good work!
KS, Transylvania Native Plant Stewards

You go girl! I hadn't heard from you, been hoping you hadn't given up. The moss gardens seem to be a GREAT way to go!
CWK. Lake Toxaway, NC

Congrats! I will make sure to check it out when I get out to the fair!
NF, SOS Program Director, Transylvania County Schools, Brevard and Rosman, NC

Congratulations, Annie, that’s terrific…you go, girl!
MZ, Heart of Brevard

Totally Awesome, Annie!!!!  We're soooo proud of you!!
NF, Duckpond Pottery

yay yay!!!!!! Annie... I am so happy for you!!!!!
SW, Musician, Brevard, NC

It is good to see someone so enthusiastic about growing moss. It is that fervor that really has gotten the interest that you are receiving. Definitely keep it up! Even though it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words I believe that a real appreciation of the impact of mosses in the environment comes only from being there in order to get the real feel of the plants in their domain. I am glad I had that chance when attending HSC up in Humboldt County. It really set the stage for my interest.
JC, California

I really enjoyed your TV spot on the web. Keep up the good work. I am bryologist here in Kentucky.
DE, Kentucky

We met at this year’s Blomquist foray, and I just wanted to let you know that I saw your spot and I loved it. Your enthusiasm is never beat. Congrats!! Congrats again Annie. You go girl! Happy Mossin.
DBP, Roanoke College, Roanoke, Virginia

Congratulations, Annie! That was a very nice piece. I hadn't read you e-mail, but just by chance I came across the interview last night and was meaning to e-mail you. It was joyful and enthusiastic. I can't wait to see your mossy Halloween costume! Carrying a mossy basket would work. Or were you perhaps thinking of a mossy hat? Whatever you choose, I'm sure that you will have fun at it. Please share photos. Again, congratulations!
JL, Western Carolina Botany Club

Awesome coverage ! Saw it this morning! Keep on...
AD, Penrose, NC

Can't wait to see what you do for your Halloween Costume. Congrats on the coverage! GREAT WEB SITE! Hope it brings you lots of green...moss and money...
JB, Seven Arts Cooperative, Brevard, NC

Lordy mercy honey you did take the show. You looked good and way to go naming a couple of em. Wish they said more about your business and named the Arboretum. I tried to get some folks to watch, and got Mom and Vicki.
VB (One of Mossin' Annie's oldest friends), Black Mountain, NC

Congrats, it was a great spot. I hope your moss gives us some good green stuff.
JR, Brevard, NC

Sure hope you got some great press! Good for you. It's all coming together!
AGB, Gaia Herbs, Brevard, NC

All I can say it "Go Girl", but that's not necessary, You are already going like mad!!!!!!!!!Congratulations Annie. I am so proud of you!
TL, NC Arboretum Board

Congratulations on all the publicity around the moss! Sounds like your work is going well.
AW, National Peace Foundation

Congratulations on the good publicity. I could tell how uncomfortable you were with being "on screen". Ya big Ham! (It takes one to know one!)
EA, Brevard, NC

I saw your booth at the music festival in Brevard last Saturday. I was surprised and pleased to see someone offering this service!
LG, Dacusville, SC

I have been home sick for 2 days, and so had the TV on for the news last night. You were awesome!!!!
WLP, WSQL Radio, Brevard, NC

Congratulations!
CC, Director of Design, NC Arboretum

Great Job, just saw you on WLOS and had time to call a few other Master Gardeners. It was a great interview. I hope to see you soon.
DV, Transylvania Master Gardener Volunteer

Congratulations on the best of show ribbons.  It was a nice piece on the news.  It is good to see someone so excited about moss and advancing its cause.  Have you tried growing it from fragments?
In case you don't remember me, you came on a walk that I did during the Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Smokies two years ago.
KB, Syracuse, New York

Annie, I love it.  Found the Absolute Le interview on the WLOS website: http://www.wlos.com/shared/newsroom/absolute_le/wlos_vid_162.shtml
I love how you let your enthusiasm bubbles over. So authentically you. Very effective.
TB, National Peace Foundation, former President of Brevard College

What an incredible day in the mountains with the sounds of bluegrass ringing round the Brevard Music Center for the 3rd Annual Mountain Song Festival. Mountain Moss proudly displayed the BEST of SHOW moss creation at this all day concert to raise money for the local Boys and Girls Club. Hometown boys, Steep Canyon Rangers, were joined by stellar performers including Tim O'Brien and Sam Bush. A SURPRISE guest artist appeared on stage playing his banjo... Steve Martin (no kin to Annie Martin)! Mossin' Annie clogged in the pit below the stage and got some up close photos to document this FUN event! Thanks, John Felty and Woody Platt, concert promoters!