A colorful roof for all seasons When other garden plants are
dormant or dead, these rooftop mosses will keep their color,
even in winter months. (Photo: Annie Martin
www.mountainmoss.com) Cool and green describe the new Moss Green
Roof at the North Carolina Arboretum located in Asheville. It
shows how indigenous mosses can achieve year-round green beauty
as well as how mosses tolerate full sun exposure. Sun mosses,
not shade mosses, are featured in this roof, designed to imitate
a western North Carolina mountain landscape. In addition,
rainwater is employed for a misting irrigation system to keep
the mosses lush. Annie Martin, known as Mossin' Annie, an
environmental moss artist/landscaper and owner of Mountain Moss
in Pisgah Forest, spearheaded the roof project. Green roofs
reduce the heat index of a building and provide storm water
runoff solutions, Annie Martin says. "For most green roofs,
sedums are usually the plants of choice. However, since mosses
already grow on roofs in our mountain region, it makes