Home » Misc » Moss grass yard

Moss grass yard


How to Grow a Moss Lawn: Benefits, Disadvantages & Tips

If you are looking for an alternative to conventional turf, consider a moss lawn. Moss has been an integral element of Japanese garden design for centuries. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, the Zen-like look of moss gardening is uncommon. This is a pity because a lush moss green carpet can grow just about anywhere except in arid environments. It can also thrive as a groundcover in many places where turfgrass is difficult to establish, such as steep hillsides.

The drawback of a moss lawn is that live mosses for landscaping are not as readily available as grass seed, and a moss lawn is more expensive to install than a lawn. However, the initial investment pays off because once a moss lawn is established, it requires much less upkeep and maintenance. All things considered, a moss lawn is more sustainable than turfgrass.

Before choosing, it's important to weigh the pros and cons of moss lawns when compared to turfgrass lawns. Find out whether a moss lawn is right for you, and what’s involved in growing and caring for it.

What Is a Moss Lawn?

A moss lawn is a dense stand of moss, a low-growing plant. Mosses don’t have a vascular system of roots, as do other plants; they absorb water and nutrients through their leaves. They grow slowly and are propagated through the production of spores, not by seeds.

Contrary to popular belief, you can step on a moss lawn. Most mosses withstand light foot traffic. Right after the moss lawn is installed, it is actually recommended to walk or sit on it to help the moss attach to the soil. For heavy foot traffic across a moss lawn, on the other hand, it is better to add a walkway or lay down stepping stones.

Walking on a moss lawn feels different from walking on a grass lawn. While moss is soft, the surface feels slightly uneven and spongy, unlike a mowed lawn where all the grass blades are cut to the same height.

Tip

Patches of moss in turfgrass usually show up in areas that are shady and damp and they are generally viewed as a nuisance. While there are ways to remove moss from your lawn and prevent it from growing, instead of trying to go through a lot of effort to change the growing conditions (raising the pH, fertilizing, improving drainage, etc.), you can make a virtue out of necessity and turn these problem areas of your turfgrass lawn into a beautiful moss lawn.

The Benefits of a Moss Lawn

Once established, a moss lawn has several advantages over turfgrass, most of which fall into the low-maintenance category.

As moss is short, under 4 inches, it does not require mowing. This not only saves you time, it is also more sustainable—no use of fossil fuel, and no air and noise pollution from a lawn mower.

Moss can grow in poor soil, which makes fertilizer unnecessary to keep your moss lawn healthy. It is also unbothered by pests so you can also cut out the pesticides. Wildlife generally leaves mosses alone.

Moss also does well in difficult conditions such as compacted or rocky soil, or slopes and steep hillsides where turf would be easily washed out by erosion. In fact, moss is often the planting of choice for erosion control.

A moss lawn is lush green when the leaves, which absorb water and nutrients, are well-hydrated. But that does not mean that mosses have high water needs. Once mosses are established, their water needs are actually low. Mosses don’t need irrigation to survive, even in arid conditions. In periods of dryness, they turn dry and go dormant. And when there is a sudden heavy downpour, they soak up all the water they can.

Disadvantages of a Moss Lawn

While there are many mistaken assumptions about the drawbacks of moss lawns, it's indisputable that this plant has some disadvantages over turfgrass when used as lawn ground cover.

Most moss species prefer relatively shady conditions, and if you have a sunny lawn, it may be difficult to find a moss suitable for your region that performs well on a lawn that receives direct sun for most of the day.

Moss, while not as tender as most people think, is by no means as durable as a turfgrass lawn—especially a grass lawn planted with species aimed at holding up under heavy foot traffic, A moss lawn may not be practical for lawns that must serve active families that enjoy outdoor games, or one that has dogs that spend a lot of time in the yard.

Moss lawns grow best in acidic soil, where the pH is 6.0 or lower. If you live in an area with alkaline soil, growing moss may be difficult or impossible unless you first perform extensive soil amendment with a material that lowers the soil pH.

Moss lawns need to be kept relatively clean of fallen leaves and other debris. This is rather easily done simply by making a pass over it with a bagging lawnmower, but it does add extra maintenance steps. Then again, moss does not need to be mowed in the traditional fashion, so this characteristic really doesn't cause a moss lawn to be more labor-intensive.

Moss is normally planted from flats of live moss, and this is not always readily available—and certainly less common than seed or sod for turfgrass. You will likely need to order moss in trays of living plants from online retailers, and the cost of a moss lawn is almost always considerably more than that of a turfgrass lawn.

Find the Right Site for a Moss Lawn

Moss lawns are more expensive than sowing grass seed or laying sod for a lawn. To make sure your investment will last, it is crucial to select the right site for a moss lawn.

The first step is to identify the microclimates in your yard. What is the sun exposure in the different areas? Are there deciduous trees or evergreens that cast shade, how densely, and at what time of the year? Does your yard have any moist, shady spots? Also pay attention to wind exposure, as wind can dry out the soil.

Growing mosses is not difficult but if you’ve never grown mosses, a gradual approach might be the wisest. Start with a corner of your yard, select moss species that are suitable for its sun exposure, and see how they do for a season or so before trying to grow a full-scale moss lawn.

J. Paul Moore / The Magical World of Moss Gardening

How to Choose Mosses

As with all other plants, sun exposure is crucial when selecting the right moss for a location. Mosses are commonly associated with growing in shady locations but there are also species that grow in sun or partial sun.

The other important consideration when selecting a moss is the growth habit. Bryum caespiticium, also known as sidewalk moss, for example, is a sun-tolerant moss but it grows in clumps so it is less suitable for a lawn with a carpet-like, even surface.

Here are a few select mosses for lawns in different light conditions:

Holcy / Getty Images

Tip

There are companies specializing in live moss, such as Mountain Moss in North Carolina and Moss Acres in Pennsylvania, where you can buy moss for a moss lawn. Mosses for lawns can be mail-ordered and are usually sold in trays or by the square foot.

Ed Reschke / Getty Images

How to Plant and Grow a Moss Lawn

Follow these steps to grow a moss lawn:

1. Check the Soil Acidity

Most mosses prefer acidic soil between a pH of 5.0 and 5.5. To make sure the soil pH is within that level, do a soil pH test of the intended planting area. Especially if you are turning a turfgrass lawn into a moss lawn where you have added lime to the soil in the past to increase the soil pH. Chances are that the soil pH is too alkaline for moss. In that case, you need to slightly acidify the soil by adding compost, manure, or another soil acidifier.

2. Prepare the Soil

After checking and adjusting the pH, clear the area of any weeds, plant residue, and other debris. Turn over the soil, then level and rake it. The surface should be firm but still have some texture, which helps the moss make good contact with the soil.

3. Plant

Water the planting area well to the point where it’s soaked but avoid puddles of standing water.

Depending on the state that the moss is in when you receive it, you might need to soak it in a bucket of water or kid’s pool until is it rehydrated. If the moss is green and looks alive, there is no need to soak it.

Moss has no roots so it is not planted in the soil but just placed on top. Press the moss into the soil and secure it with landscaping pins. Light, slow, flat-footed walking on newly laid moss from time to time can also help it establish but make sure that you do not dislodge the patches when stepping on them.

Water the planting area thoroughly and keep it constantly moist for the first four to six weeks until the moss is established—when it won’t detach from the soil when you try to gently lift it.

Detailed instructions on how to plant moss can also be found here.

Annie Martin / MountainMoss.com

Care and Maintenance 

After moss is established, it will not need regular watering. Even in periods of no precipitation, moss absorbs moisture from the air. In extended periods of dry weather, if the moss starts to look excessively dry, you can rehydrate it with a sprinkler or a mister for a few minutes a couple of times per day until you see the moss change to a more vibrant color.

Especially in the early stages before the moss forms a dense carpet, weeds are likely to grow in your moss lawn. Pull any weeds gently by hand as soon as they emerge. If you let weeds take hold and they get too large or numerous, removing them can damage the moss carpet. Moss does not respond well to herbicides so manual weeding is the way to go.

The only other maintenance required for a moss lawn is to remove any leaves in the fall that can mold and rot and deprive the moss of light.

Moss lawn does not require fertilization. Changes in the moss color are seasonal or due to moisture levels and are perfectly normal. Unlike in grass and other vascular plants, color changes are not a sign of nutrient deficiency.

How to Remove and Prevent Moss in Lawns

By

David Beaulieu

David Beaulieu

David Beaulieu is a landscaping expert and plant photographer, with 20 years of experience. He was in the nursery business for over a decade, working with a large variety of plants. David has been interviewed by numerous newspapers and national U.S. magazines, such as Woman's World and American Way.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 06/09/22

Reviewed by

Kathleen Miller

Reviewed by Kathleen Miller

Kathleen Miller is a highly-regarded Master Gardener and Horticulturist who shares her knowledge of sustainable living, organic gardening, farming, and landscape design. She founded Gaia's Farm and Gardens, a working sustainable permaculture farm, and writes for Gaia Grows, a local newspaper column. She has over 30 years of experience in gardening and sustainable farming.

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board

The Spruce / Steven Merkel

Project Overview

Moss is one of the most common and annoying of all lawn weeds. Moss seems to plague any lawn areas that are shady and damp—precisely those areas where desirable turf grass seems shy about growing thick and full. There are many thousands of species of moss, but they are all relatively primitive plants with tiny leaves that are only a single cell thick. Rather than seeds, these plants reproduce through spores, and because mosses are structurally much different than vascular weeds, they do not respond to the same control methods. Many mosses have existed almost unchanged for millions of years, which is an indication of how adaptable and tenacious they are.

Mosses are very shallow-rooted plants, so immediate removal is not particularly hard. But permanent control of moss is mostly about changing the cultural conditions that favor their growth.

Before Getting Started

If you want to eliminate moss, it's essential to know why it's there in the first place. There are many reasons why moss appears in a turf-grass lawn, all of them cultural:

It should be noted that these conditions are precisely those that make it hard to grow desirable turfgrasses. Thus, one of the best means of moss prevention is to create conditions where grass can thrive. While it's possible to temporarily eliminate the moss growing in your lawn, it will only reappear unless you identify and correct the conditions favorable to its growth.

When to Get Rid of Moss

Moss can be attacked whenever it appears. It is relatively easy to eliminate temporarily at any time of the year. However, for the longer-term solutions involving changing the cultural conditions of your lawn, focus your efforts on the normal times for grass care—especially the spring and fall.

Safety Considerations

The ingredients in commercial moss killers—most contain iron sulfate and ferrous ammonium sulfate—are not physiologically toxic in the way that other herbicides are. But they are corrosive substances that can badly irritate skin and lungs. Further, run-off chemical from these products is seriously hazardous to aquatic life. If you must use these herbicides, apply them as spot treatments directly to patches of moss, and never spray them on concrete and other surfaces where run-off is likely.

Click Play to Learn How to Get Rid of Moss in Lawns

Not all these supplies are necessarily required, but some of the tools and materials you may need include:

Equipment / Tools

Materials

The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Hilary Allison

  1. Rake Your Lawn

    Since moss is shallow-rooted, you may be able to rake it out. A good brisk raking with a bow rake or even a leaf rake may pull the moss from the soil. This will work best when the lawn is moist, such as after a rainfall or lawn watering. Raking several times from different angles is the best way to loosen moss from the soil.

    The Spruce / Steven Merkel

  2. Try an Organic Solution

    For homeowners who are loath to use synthetic chemicals, there are several very effective organic, non-toxic remedies you can try. For example, you can fill a garden sprayer with 2 gallons of lukewarm water and mix in a box of baking soda, then spray this solution on the patches of moss.

    Another remedy is to mix ordinary dish soap (Dawn Ultra is a preferred product) and water in a garden sprayer (5 ounces per gallon of water). This mixture will quickly kill moss.

    Finally, there are commercial horticultural soaps, such as Safer brand, that will also kill moss.

    The Spruce / Steven Merkel

  3. Spray With Chemical Moss Killer

    The popular herbicides used against many weeds are not very effective against moss. If you do want the quick action of a chemical, choose a targeted product containing iron sulfate or ferrous ammonium sulfate, mixed according to label directions (usually about 1 ounce per gallon of water). Such products are usually labeled as "moss killer."

    Remember, though, that chemical moss killer is by no means a long-term solution. As soon as the chemical drains through the soil or runs off (with the accompanying hazards to groundwater and aquatic life), the area will once more become overrun with moss unless the underlying conditions are corrected.

    The Spruce / Steven Merkel

  4. Remove Thatch and Aerate the Lawn

    With surface moss removed, your efforts can now turn toward preventing future moss growth. The first step here is to evaluate the role that thatch buildup might be playing. Some homeowners intent on getting rid of moss really need to be focusing on getting rid of thatch, which can prevent water from draining properly through the soil.

    The process of removing thatch is called "dethatching." Hard manual raking with a sharp-toothed bow rake or a special dethatching rake will do the job, but many people prefer to hire a professional service or rent a power dethatcher to do this labor-intensive job.

    Following up dethatching with annual aeration will help reduce soil compaction and improve drainage and air circulation, which makes the soil more conducive to grass and less friendly to moss. When to aerate depends in part on the type of lawn grass you grow. Aerate cool-season grasses in early fall and warm-season grasses in mid-spring to early summer.

    Indeed, the best defense against moss is a good offense. Healthy grass will crowd out weeds. Instead of asking, "How do I get rid of moss?" the better question is "How can I make my lawn healthier?"

    The Spruce / Steven Merkel

  5. Evaluate Sun/Shade

    Getting rid of moss in a lawn can simply be a matter of addressing the issue of excessive shade. Open up the area to more sunlight through tree removal, or by having some of the larger, lower branches pruned off. Most grasses do best with six hours or more of direct sunlight per day, though some shade-tolerant grasses will accept three or four hours. In your tree pruning, strive to provide sunlight in those amounts.

    Increasing sunlight will also help improve the health of any garden areas on your property.

    The Spruce / Ana Cadena

  6. Evaluate Your Soil

    Moss infestations are very often traced to poor soil conditions—especially pH and nutritional problems. A great way to begin your investigation is to send in a sample of your soil to your local Cooperative Extension service so that they can test it for you. Tell them that you are trying to get rid of moss in a lawn, requesting information on soil pH and nutrient content.

    Moss-infested lawns often have acidic soil. It's not so much that moss likes acid soil, but rather than turf grasses react badly to acid conditions. But don't amend the soil with agricultural lime (an alkaline powder that will reduce acidity) unless the soil test indicates a need for it. The soil test may have other recommendations for how to best adjust the soil pH, such as topdressing with wood ash.

    Finally, the soil test will give you valuable information on the nutrients in your soil, making recommendations for fertilizers and other amendments to add in order to make it suitable for growing turfgrass.

    The Spruce / Steven Merkel

  7. Consider Drainage

    The soil analysis report may also alert you to possible drainage problems caused by high clay content. Water tends to percolate slowly through overly clayey soils, and that can lead to visible puddling. The soil test can confirm that the clay content is high in your lawn. This kind of drainage issue can be corrected by regularly amending the soil (for example with humus or another organic material) to make more friable.

    Poor drainage can be caused by other factors in addition to clay content. If the lawn receives a lot of foot traffic (as when children play on the lawn frequently), your problem could be soil compaction—a problem that can be addressed by more frequent lawn aeration.

    Some serious drainage problems occur when the underlying subsoil is very dense and impermeable, which occurs in regions where a hardpan layer lies below the topsoil. Poor drainage in these situations may need to be addressed by changing the contours of the yard to help excess water drain away, by the installation of a French drain, or even by digging up the entire lawn to change the composition of the underlying subsoil. Such radical remedies are rarely needed, however, if all other solutions are tried.

    Ivan-balvan / Getty Images

  8. Plant Different Grass Species

    Moss is opportunistic and will sometimes fill in lawn areas left bare because the grass variety that you have chosen is ill-suited to shady conditions. Here, the solution to the problem may be as simple as switching grasses. Tall fescue grass, for example, is a relatively shade-tolerant grass that may crowd out moss once it becomes established.

    Switching grasses can be done all at once, by killing of the existing lawn, then planting a new lawn by seed or sod. But it can also be done simply by repeated top-seeding using shade-tolerant grass seed. Make sure to loosen the soil in bare spots and areas where moss has taken hold, and sprinkle new seed over these areas. Over a year or two, these areas will flourish as shade-tolerant, moss-resistant lawn space. After planting, follow recommended care procedures, especially when it comes to fertilizing. Healthy, dense grass means little or no moss.

    Remember, though, that no turfgrass species will thrive in areas of total dense shade. Unless these areas get three or four hours of sunlight or bright filtered light, it may be better to plant an entirely different ground cover plant, which will also have the effect of blocking out moss growth.

    The Spruce / David Beaulieu

Be Wary When Choosing a Ground Cover Plant for Shady Areas

The most expensive courtyard in St.

Petersburg: the courtyard where I grew up... ..

Mokhovaya street is beautiful all over. There is also one neo-Renaissance house on it, in which Taras Shevchenko, the composer Glinka, the great Stasov lived. Someone says that Y. Shevchuk now lives there. This truly St. Petersburg house still shows a couple of the main features of the planning of St. Petersburg - the courtyard is more beautiful than the facade, and the gallery of bizarre walk-through "Dostoevsky" courtyards. This is all further and speech: ...


Here I photographed the emblems on the facade. There are several. This is the coat of arms of the last owner of the Grabbe house, who rebuilt it under the Neo-Renaissance in 1913. According to some reports, one coat of arms depicts the victory of the Christian army over the Muslims - the Cossacks hold the head of a Muslim - can this be imagined today? )) Although, probably, guest workers guess, because there are very few of them living in this house ... I must say earlier the symbolism was generally more specific: once I read the inscription on the Arc de Triomphe (Narva or Moscow Gates?) - it says ". .. in honor of the pacification of Poland ... "so - remember, remember everything, and if someone forgets - everything is written down.

[ Spoiler (click to open) ]
Mokhovaya Street was one of the first streets built in St. Petersburg.

She was going to the west of the Foundry Yard, in the settlement of Khamovniki. Khamovniks were then called weavers who made fabrics, including sails. Khamovniki lived in Khamovskaya Slodoba, which was located next to the Particular Shipyard and Khamov Yard. Therefore, since 1739, the road was officially called Khamovaya. In parallel with this name, there was another option - Khomovaya street.

The first inhabitants of Mokhovaya Street were not only Khamovniki, but also soldiers and officers of the Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments. After the construction of the Particular shipyard on Mokhovaya Street in 1715-1722, plots were given to its craftsmen and officials. Servants of the palace department also lived here: cooks, bakers, brewers and kvass makers. Next to them lived the first builders of St. Petersburg - employees and masters of the Chancellery from the buildings and the Office from the buildings of the imperial houses and gardens. The area of ​​Khamova Sloboda at the beginning of the 18th century was part of the Moscow side, which then included the entire fountain part of the city.

Despite the fact that at first the Fontanka was considered the border of St. Petersburg, the area beyond this river also quickly settled down. One of its inhabitants in the 1730s was Ivan Balakirev. In the 1730s-1770s, a water pipe ran through the plot of house No. 31, supplying water to the fountains of the Summer Garden. Between Fontanka and Mokhovaya Street, to the south of the Particular shipyard, the royal menagerie was located. There were auxors (bison), poultry (in place of house No. 37), cattle (in place of house No. 39) and other yards. On the site of house No. 43 there were cellars, where herbs and roots from the Summer and Italian gardens were stored for the needs of the royal court in winter.

On the other coat of arms there are just lightning bolts, supposed to make it worse for Muslims)

Facade - like in Florence - plaster, high reliefs under Roman patterns (identities unknown), wide overhanging cornice (as if we have too much sun):

And notice - who would do that these days? - rhythmic lion masks on the edge of the cornice at a height indistinguishable to the eye of a passer-by. It's wonderful ))

This is the central arch of the entrance to the main courtyard. Yards in the house are divided by local names - Large, Small, Educational, Checkpoint, Postal. This is a familiar thing for St. Petersburg - the names of the yards - now I live in a house where the yards are called - Italian, Garbage, Kishka, Far, and Sadik. Hello, Petersburg))

In the 19th century, the front doors and entrances of St. Petersburg were actively equipped with cast-iron canopies. My house was gone, it remained "pure style", and it had a wooden gate! But in "our days" they were replaced by poor rusty ones. Part of the beauty of the wooden gates is still visible:

There are two front doors from the Mokhovaya side of the house - one is just the front door, the other is the main one) Let's start with a simple one (which is closer to the arch). The first thing you see is native stucco molding tightly painted over for 70 years, thanks to the residents - that the last layer is not green)

Ceiling mouldings:

Stairs. Different floors have different flooring - on the lower floors there are granite slabs on the floor:

A place where residents smoke (it's strange, apartments here cost tens of millions, and their owners still smoke in jars in the entrance and stink of smoke under the noses of neighbors. ..):

On the upper floors on the floor there is a printed "Metlakh" plate and on it, again, evidence of the morals of wealthy residents - they surely cannot reach the garbage dump, so the monitor was simply thrown onto the landing (or maybe they feel sorry for parting with it? ):

Here is Petersburg - this is the view from the window of the first front door into the courtyard: high reliefs, stucco molding, artistic pieces.

Who are you, harsh Romans, did you really know all of you in the 19th century by sight (as we now Bush, Obama, Putin, Surgeon, Zhirinovsky, Matvienko, and other companies, can you imagine - if now they built a house, say, on Planernaya where modern famous personalities would be on the facade of the house and so that we could live in their company?..):

One essential detail of St. Petersburg is missing here - pigeons! In summer, my yard is amazingly quiet - Mokhovaya Street is not very active at all, although it was once called an avenue - and the yard is well soundproofed by the thickness of the house and a narrow arch. Therefore, as a child, I remembered the mise-en-scene: the summer immovable silence, the coolness of the fountain, the company of statues, the attentive faces of the Romans, and the cooing and clattering of pigeon claws on the eaves: "this is all my dear .." (c) S. Bodrov "Brother", this is my best melody ))

View from the front window into the inner courtyard: this is the entrance to the front entrance of the inner building. After all, is it true that he is a hundred times more interesting than the one from the street?

For some reason no one built an attic on it... I wonder where Shevchuk lives?

There is also a fountain with a mini-garden in the yard (I can tell you for sure that in my childhood there were more trees and they were taller - answer, where did the tall trees go?!)). Until now, one of the brightest memories of childhood was how the janitor amused us guys by suddenly turning on the fountain ... and how we found out where the faucet was and, of course, the rest of that summer they tried to open it ... Now, instead of children, unceremoniously parked cars, and in the fountain both in winter and summer growing concrete and Christmas tree.

Above the portico of the entrance to the courtyard entrance, two concrete figures with shields are sitting, surrounded by other muzzles:

Fireplace inside. More precisely, it was:

Entrance door of the front courtyard from the inside:

Window of the first floor "with personalities" view from the entrance:

Here you are:


As a child, I loved them, it seemed to me that they were playing there))) I thought that they were also children (now I see sideburns on him more) and even when I walked alone I felt their company (oh, city child ):

From the first courtyard, another typical feature of St. Petersburg is through entrances. They almost always led to continuous "Dostoevshchina":

However, from the inside, these outbuildings are built very soundly - the walls are a meter thick, the staircase is built on arched vaults. Only there was no sewerage, no heating, no hallway, no kitchen, just a corridor and rooms - this was built for the Raskolnikovs and servants (Shevchenko did not live here - he lived in the apartment of his slave owner Engelhardt):

This is how curious onlookers usually see the main entrance from Mokhovaya Street:

This is how the same nook looks like if you go inside:

And this is how the main staircase actually looks, you can’t see it from the window:

Here it is life - 2 floors of light and no claustrophobia! It's not for nothing that this main front door - it was here that there were apartments with 14-30 rooms each)

The passage from the front door to that very "nook" with a stove visible from the street, slaves (that is, serfs and Taras Shevchenko) appeared from there and took coats from the owners, manto and galoshes:

Here I shot a couple of photos of one of the apartments, which is still a communal apartment of 13 rooms - wood carving, leather embossed wallpaper:



NB a couple of modern apartments from this house (remains of photos from the cache from the websites of firms selling luxury real estate). For reasons of modesty and privacy, I do not post here. And in Google you can) It's worth it!

Eh, enough about apartments and porches. It's time to move on along the string of yards. This is the Training Yard (before the revolution there was a school, then a secondary school, then the children ended and now here is a branch of the Institute of Design, "Rag" among the people):

You checked out what brandmauer on the right!!! This is our everything, dear )

The next yard - a checkpoint - I did not take a picture. And now I think that in vain - it will be necessary to make an update, wait.

And behind it is the Postal Yard (postal, because this arch has the entrance to the post office) and the archway to 29 Liteiny Prospekt- another modern handsome man. Pay attention to the glazed tiles "boar" in the arch and the wall of the courtyard - now thickly painted with the inevitable Soviet green - that's who the glazed tiles prevented? it is formulated and made to stand "forever".

This is how it is - my yards, my St. Petersburg, my childhood...

Read "The Tales of Sukharik the Mouse" - Volkova Svetlana Lvovna - Page 3

Pashutka got out of the snowdrift. Where are the pine sleds? Searched and searched and did not find. He lifted his head up - a stone's throw to the moon. The moon cap turns black very close. He climbed the Pashutka mountain, but quickly got tired. I'm not used to climbing uphill.

The guys were already worried when he finally went down to the Warm Hill. No sled, no hat. And the one that I wanted to remove from the moon, I didn’t get it. And he lost his in a snowdrift. Oh, and Pashutka got it from her grandmother Anfisa. Pashutka hid behind a woodpile - crying. Suddenly, a familiar voice from the woodpile:

- Don't cry, Pashutka, you'll get new sleds. New, pine, birch skids. Only without bells.

The next day Pashutka got up a little before light - the new sled was ready. Pashutka ran to Teplyaya Gorka.

Oh, you are high, Warm Hill! They don't call you Warm for nothing. Pashutka is climbing uphill, pulling new sleds. It is hot for him, as if in a bath. Well, finally got there! He sat down on a pine sled and rolled down. The wind sang in my ears. It seems to Pashutka that self-ringing bells are ringing. They call-pronounce:

Anyway, I will drive to the Crow Mountain!

I'll reach the moon anyway!

And I won't take a sled with me,

And I'll get a hat from the moon!

Pashutka looked around: did anyone hear? There is no one. Only below, under the hill, grandfather Poleshko stands in his yard, waving his mitten.

SWAN GRASS

Anfisa waters the beds in the garden, and Pashutka plays in the swan grass near the fence. It's hot in Pashutka's garden, it's boring. And one of his grandmother does not let him go to the river. Pashutka sighs: “If I were a little caterpillar, I would move the plank in the fence, slip through the crack and run to the river. ” The quinoa grass whispers to Pashutka:

- What's wrong with that? You just need to say the goose word. Repeat after me, behind the swan grass: “The fizzy word, the goose word, like a goose’s neck, long, long, I was Pashutka, grandmother’s granddaughter, turn me into a caterpillar in a white shirt.”

Pashutka repeated everything word for word and turned into a caterpillar in a white shirt. He pushed a plank aside in the fence, darted through the crack, and onto the river. On the river drakes float, important, in pearls, in emeralds discharged. And gray ducks walk along the shore, carry water from the lake on yokes. Carefully carry, not a drop will be spilled. They have a garden in the reeds, and grapes grow in the garden.

A gosling in a white shirt swims and dives. Important drakes do not offend him, they amuse him with emerald pebbles, pearls.

Suddenly Pashutka hears, whispering grass-quinoa to him from the garden:

— It's hot for me, grass-swan. Dry me. Bring me a bucket of water to drink.

A gosling in a white shirt thinks: I'll go and ask the gray ducks for a bucket. Came. Gray ducks Pashutka is invited to the garden, treated with ripe grapes.

- Do you like our garden, gosling? Are our grapes tasty?

Again he calls Pashutka, the swan-grass whispers:

- It's hot for me, the swan-grass. Dry me. Bring at least some water in your beak to drink.

A gosling took water in its beak, then a dragonfly touched it with its wing. Quick, fast dragonfly, like a goat.

- Come on, gosling, let's play tag. Only, mind you, I, the dragonfly, am the first to stain.

Pashutka played with a dragonfly. Returned home late in the evening.

Standing at the doorstep like a caterpillar. How to turn into a boy now? I went to the garden, where the swan grass is. The quinoa grass withered from the heat, died.

- Grass-swan, but how can I turn from a caterpillar? You didn't tell me.

The quinoa grass did not answer, as if it had not heard.

Pashutka didn't go into the house as a caterpillar, he trembled under the burdocks until morning. I got up a little light, found a bucket in the garden - and to the river. It was easy for a bucket when Pashutka was a little boy. Oh, and a heavy bucket for a little caterpillar! He barely hobbled to the garden, but carried all the water, did not spill it.

The gosling began to water the grass-quinoa. The sun rose, a cheerful rainbow played in the water. The swan-grass rose, whispered:

- Rainbow-arc, give me rain!

A rainbow rose into the sky. It hung like a painted yoke over the river. There are two full buckets on the rocker. A downpour poured from the buckets. It spilled into the river, on the swan grass, on grandmother's beds.

Pashutka looks into the rain puddle: “Everything is all right! And no words are needed! I'm not a goose anymore - I became Pashutka again!

Grandma Anfisa is happy about the rain! She doesn't need to water the garden.

Grandmother Anfisa forgave Pashutka and treated him to the first carrot.

MOSS

Winter has come. Grandma Anfisa inserted winter frames into the windows.

The old man Mokhovoy came from the forest, laid moss between the frames and stayed in the moss for the winter. Pashutka looks: in the window an old man is only as tall as a cedar cone, his hair is shaggy, his face is pockmarked, his hat is made of moss. And the eyes from under the hat look like two marsh forget-me-nots. Quietly, inaudibly, he walks in soft moss boots - watering geraniums on the windowsill.

And he speaks softly - Pashutka can't make out. He will say a quiet word - and geraniums will bloom in the middle of winter. Decorated with scarlet hats. What word is this? That would be to know!

It used to happen that the stove would blow out in the evening, the grandmother was reluctant to heat it. She is to Mokhovoy. He will stroke the oven on the bleached side, say something quietly to her. And the house is warm.

Frost walks outside the windows, window glass freezes, white light is not seen in the houses. Grandmother Anfisa runs to Mokhovoy:

- Say your quiet word.

Mokhovoy whispers his quiet word - the frost will cross over to the other side of the street. Immediately the window will thaw, the sky will turn blue in it, a white street will appear. Vasilisa will jump onto the windowsill, begin to wash herself - to wash the guests. Guests will see - they are waiting. And they will come. With news. With hotels.

Pashutka thought for a long time: “What is Mokhovoy’s word?” He laughed and asked. Smiled eyes - two marsh forget-me-nots.

- My word is inaudible, quiet. It cannot be disassembled here. Come to me behind the glass, there I have silence. Knock three times - I'll go out and open it.

Pashutka began to gather to Mokhovoy for a word. Washed, combed, just got ready - the guys in the house.

- Take it, Pashutka, skates. We are going to the river.

Pashutka did not hesitate for a long time. After all, the guys will stand and leave, and Mokhovoy is at home all day. Knocked on the window:

- I'll come on Tuesday.

I grabbed my skates and went to the river.

On Tuesday I got ready again, washed my face, combed my hair. Suddenly a white hare knocks on the window. Pashutka sighs:

- I'm going to Mokhovoy for a word!

I sighed and reasoned like this: it's not every day that hares knock on windows. And Mokhovoy winters with us every winter. And he ran after the hare into the forest.

On Wednesday Anfisa's grandmother sent Pashutka for salt.

On Thursday the guests arrived with news and gifts. Stayed for three days.

So the week went by. The second passed - and the winter to the end. Mokhovoi left. Quietly left in soft moss boots.

Pashutka did not grieve: "Winter will come again - Mokhovaya will come to spend the winter."

Winter has come - it didn't keep you waiting. But Mokhovoy is nowhere to be seen.

He does not lay moss between the frames, he is not preparing to winter. Grandma Anfisa laid the moss herself - it still blows from the windows and the geraniums withered.

Guests do not come to the house. They do not carry news and gifts. Yes, Pashutka does not miss them. He misses Mokhovoi. He doesn't leave the house all day. Looking through the frozen window. See nothing.

Pashutka opened the window, stepped on the soft moss and found himself in the forest. That forest is white, icy. Pines and fir trees are white. And carved tall grasses are white.

- Moss! Ay! Mokhovoy!

An echo responded, frost fell from the grass:

- I'm here ...

I saw Pashutka under the Mokhovoye pine. A hat made of moss covered with snow, white. And his face turned white from the cold.

— Mokhovoy, I have come, Mokhovoy…

Pashutka at Mokhovoy began to shake the snow off his hat. On the hands to breathe, warm.

Learn more