DIY Kusamono Japanese Flower Arrangement

I made this today with a little terracotta tray which I got at the thrift store for .75 cents. This took literally ten minutes while I looked around the yard for treasures to fill the dish. The moss was growing along our gravel patio, so I just used the sandy soil that the moss was naturally growing in for soil. We have a good number of oak trees, so mossy tree pieces are every where. In the past, I've placed collected driftwood in among the plantings, so there are little sea rolled pieces of wood among the mulch.

I could not find any small plants to add with height that were small enough, and I would have liked to place a large piece of driftwood at the edge, but I couldn't find just the right size and shape. I compromised with a piece of mossy bark and a chunk of insect eaten wood(interesting tunnels) from a log. In the end, I figured this was a better representation of my woodland garden. And that is what Kusamono is all about, trying to recreate natural environments in miniature and in an abstract manner emphasizing simplicity.

The moss will fluff up and the stones will settle in time. I haven't watered it yet because it's been raining outside, so it's nice and moist. This arrangement is so easy to maintain, just mist it every few days. It will fit on one of my window sills which doesn't get direct sun, far away from my little girls fingers.

Hmmm, suddenly I feel like eating sushi.