The path less traveled

This update is a bit more of a slow burn - no big reveal or anything. When we had the patio redone last spring they redid the walkway that leads from our driveway to our backyard (of COURSE I forgot to get a before picture - imagine uneven and cracked pavers, many partially sunken under the ground, not as evenly spaced and many no longer close to square). It looked great, but what little greenery we had been able to grow in this area fully shaded by the garage and surrounding trees was just dirt by the time they were done (this was also the path they used to bring all their heavy machinery into the backyard, before they re-laid the path). The company that did the patio put down grass seed (you can just barely see it in the photo) but we were pretty convinced that wouldn't work. And with every rain, we could see the topsoil washing away.

We decided to take a different approach and try moss! We weren't optimistic, since we had moss on our stone wall next to his bare patch of dirt that never spread to it, so presumably the conditions weren't right. But moss does love shade and low-traffic areas, so it seemed the perfect place.

We showered common spaces in the neighborhood, asked neighbors, and ended up getting a few good bucketfuls to lay in place:

You can see in this picture how dramatic and quick the process was - just unfold and lay the moss and suddenly, it looks beautiful! Right alongside bare dirt:

We weren't sure if it would take hold, but the immediate effect was beautiful! We kept it watered and made sure to stay on the stones when walking into the backyard. At a minimum, it stopped the topsoil run-off right away.

Checking back over the spring and summer, we saw that some of the moss remained and other greenery had actually started to grow  in as well. Some of it is clearly weeds and not grass, but we aren't picky. Anything with roots to hold the ground in place and create a green space was fine with us.

And finally, here we are this fall - it looks like weeds overtook the moss, which is only just barely there. But I guess in the end, we managed to keep the dirt in place long enough for our natural landscaping (weeds, because we've given up) took over. I wish we could have maintained the soft, mossy look. But I'll take this too, I suppose.