Craft

Sarah is the author of craftinvaders.co.uk where she blogs about her original craft tutorials, recipes, foraging, and developing wellbeing through being creative, spending time outdoors and connecting with nature

By Sarah Whiting

Kokedama Moss Balls

KOKEDAMA IS THE JAPANESE ART OF GROWING PLANTS IN MOSS BALLS. TRADITIONALLY, KOKEDAMA IS FORMED BY WRAPPING THE ROOTS OF PLANTS IN CLAY BEFORE TYING MOSS AROUND IT. THE RESULT IS A BEAUTIFUL BUT HIGH MAINTENANCE LOOK. THIS ‘CHEAT’ IS A GREAT ALTERNATIVE!

Old tennis balls Adhesive sheet moss String (optional)

1. Mark a circle guide on the top of the tennis balls and use a knife to carefully cut that part away. 2. Cut out all the pieces of moss following the pattern (see TOP TIP!). Since the moss is quite thick, I chose to use an 8 piece pattern, but you can create different numbers of pieces to suit your own need. 3. The moss sheet I use has an adhesive backing and sticks down really well. I stuck the excess moss around the cut edge to give a neat finish. 4. To keep the moss clean, line the opening of the Kokedama balls with some plastic before filling them. This part is optional, you can fill them carefully, just try not to get any of the soil on the moss, you want it inside! 5. Add some gravel into the moss balls. The gravel should help in two ways. The Kokedama don’t have drainage holes so the gravel will help prevent the roots of the plants sitting in water and rotting. The gravel also helps weight the Kokedama balls encouraging them to stay upright as the plants grow. They can be hung using string or left freestanding as they are here. They look just as beautiful as traditionally made ones, but don’t need twice daily watering and drip drying.

TOP TIP!

To get a neat finish to the Kokedama moss balls, use a ball pattern generator to calculate the number and shape of the moss pieces to ensure a perfect fit.

www.templatemaker.nl/ en/sphere