Moss Garden in a kitchen sink !
Notes on setting up a moss garden for the Australian National Herbarium Open Days in August 2006
Photos can be enlarged by clicking
![moss garden](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-800/SD060002-600.jpg)
Start with a kitchen sink purchased from a recycle depot for about Aust$20.
Paint it with bituminous paint.
Here half the sink has been painted. |
![sink](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/R0010378.jpg) |
Paint the whole top surface with bituminous paint.
Bituminous paint is sold for waterproofing tanks etc. A tin like this costs about A$15.
It takes about 10 days to dry. |
![sink](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/R0010380.jpg) |
Here the whole top surface of the sink has been painted with bituminous paint.
Masking tape was put on the sides to keep them free of paint. |
![sink](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/R0010381.jpg) |
River sand was poured onto the wet surface of the thick bituminous paint.
The sand was about 5 mm deep and pressed into the paint. |
![sink](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/R0010384.jpg) |
Here the whole surface of the sink is covered in sand.
Leave this for about 10 days for the bituminous paint to dry before brushing the loose sand off. |
![sink](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/R0010386.jpg) |
Trickle irrigation tubing was clipped in place along the back edge of the sink over the sand-bonded surface.
A small fountain pump (about A$10) was connected to this tubing. |
![sink pump](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/R0010392.jpg) |
A series of equal-length smaller trickle irrigation tubes were connected to the main pipe at each end of the sink.
The pump pressure was found to be able to deliver water to about 5 of these small tubes at each end of the sink, ie about 10 trickle outlets.
The tube ends were just cut, no trickle irrigation heads were used. |
![sink](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/R0010393.jpg) |
Coarse river gravel was placed over the flat surface of each end of the sink to plant the mosses into.
A length of mossy rotting log was placed along the back length of the sink.
The small tubing was placed to deliver a constant trickle of water to various mosses. It was later buried in the gravel. |
![sink](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/R0010395.jpg) |
The final display moss garden was set up for two months prior to the Herbarium Open Days. It was put on a frame stand with castors for easy mobility.
It subsequently went on display in the foyer of the Australian National Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre for three months. |
![sink](/moss-gardening/kitchen-sink/images-300/SD060002.jpg) |
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