Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with moss

The House is a-Rockin'

Tube — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:09:41 -0800

Why are there big rocks on this roof? Though the paint on the building appears to be new, the strange roof texture has been there for years. The pitch of the roof is low, so I can't see what kind of material is under the rocks. I don't see any obvious asphalt or wood shingles, corrugated metal, fiberglass, or tiles.

A great deal of moss has accumulated between the stones. I assume this is unintentional, but I don't know for sure. I've driven by this building for years, and the roof has always been like this.

I wonder if tar paper was put down, then never finished with shingles. Perhaps the rocks were to prevent the tar paper from blowing away. Yet there seems to be an awful lot of rather large rocks; more than enough to simply hold tar paper down, I would think.

For what it's worth, this is a commercial building, not a residence.

This is the only roof like this I've ever seen. Is it simply an unusual style? Do the rocks serve a function I'm unfamiliar with?

What plants & mosses will grow will in a terrarium in an office with only florescent lighting (no windows)?

unclezeb — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:42:08 -0800

Plant-filter: which plants/mosses for an office terrarium if the office has no windows and only florescent lighting? (something like this?) I work in a relatively small office with no windows and, for now, no plants. The lighting is from (fairly bright) ceiling florescent bulbs only.

I've seen some great smallish terrariums that would be great, but they all suggest "indirect sunlight" ... will my florescent lights be enough to keep a little moss/plant filled terrarium healthy and growing?

Great examples that made me want to try this:

"The Apple"
White dish with moss
Glass cholche

I'll also probably get a spider plant, but I really like the terrariums!

If you know where to buy a prepared terrarium or supplies to build my own I'd be really glad to hear about it. But my main question is, what plants, mosses, lichen, etc will work well in my florescent light only environment?

Thanks again green-thumbed mefites!

I hate mowing. I love moss.

agropyron — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 13:37:46 -0800

Lawn alternatives! Has anyone here tried replacing their high-maintenance grass lawn with an alternative lawn? I've read about some of the no-mow lawn grass types, and I understand other people simply let the moss and clover grow. Have you seen a lawn like this? How did you like it? My (back yard) lawn is usually either brown and dead from lack of watering, or enormously tall from lack of mowing. I've noticed that moss is creeping in, and I've read that some people allow the moss to take over. I wonder what the disadvantages of a moss lawn would be. Would it get torn up from vigorous activity like kids playing on it?

I also like the clover idea. I know it attracts a lot of bees when it flowers, but I have the impression that you can just mow it once or twice when it's flowering to prevent this.

I'm not too interested in the gravel lawns some people use, but failing other alternatives I might resort to strewing nice-looking wood chips all over instead of grass.

What alternative lawns have you seen? What did you think?

Mossy Roof

Faze — Sun, 01 Aug 2004 15:43:18 -0800

I was up on my roof earlier today and saw that it's covered with lichen, and there's moss growing underneath and lifting up the asphalt shingles. I there any kind of moss-or-fungicide I can spray or paint onto this stuff to get rid of it? (A trip to Loews turned up nothing.)