The Guardian - Life & Style • Feb. 6, 2026, 12:30 p.m.

Recreate a centuries-old technique from the far east with moss, soil, twine, bonsai compost – and a little patience I’ve lived in the same corner of London for the best part of 15 years, and increasingly the pavements and parks are layered like onion skins, holding memories of my youth that I don’t realise are there until I return. This week I took my newborn daughter to Peckham in south-east London, to meet a friend in a cafe I’d never heard of.

When I turned up, I realised it used to be a regular haunt of mine, and suddenly I was both a tired woman in her late 30s with two kids, and also 22, unemployed and making the most of happy hour. I bring this up because of what was on the table: a kokedama.

If you’re unfamiliar, the word translates to “moss ball”.

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