For Foliage Follow Up this month, I'm devoting most of my post to my favorite winter foliage treat - Lichens! I love hiking in the winter because the rains have plumped up all the lovely lichen and moss that cling to tree trunks and rocks. It's like all these new gardens that only appear in winter. The lichen foliage comes in all colors - green, brown, orange, black, icy-blue, white, chartreuse. You just have to slow down and enjoy these miniature, temporary gardens.
Love this mossy roof:
Mossy mountain in miniature:
This is a new moss to me:
So vibrant:
And there are also the Polypodium californicum ferns that appear this time of year. The fronds spring from solid rock boulders.
If you are into lichens and moss check out these three books:
Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest by Bruce McCune and Linda Geiser, Oregon State University Press - a great book with with key, photos and descriptions of lichens to be found in this region.
Lichens by William Purvis, Smithsonian Institution Press - a life and times of lichens around the world.
And a surprisingly good read: Moss Gardening by George Schenk, Timber Press - a great book if you would like to encourage moss in your garden.
And make sure and check out our kind host's Foliage Follow Up post over at Digging.
This is a fun Foliage post. Moss and lichens really are pretty in winter, brightening up the woods. Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteMoss and lichens just take me back to childhood playing in the woods with the fairies! Beautiful post!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. Love seeing the lichens growing on my own trees - they have such wonderful variety in colors and shapes.
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