KOKEDAMA

String gardens or moss balls are a japanese gardening technique called kokedama. It's a form of bonsai grown in a ball form covered with moss and not grown in a container. It's said the "idea originated from Nearai, which was a popular bonsai style during the Edo era in Japan, and is a bonsai grown first in a pot and taken out of the pot and set on a stand to enjoy without a pot. In the Nearai style, the bonsai was grown so fully and tightly in the pot that the root and soil would maintain its shape when taken out of the pot."