I use an electric leaf blower(Toro,225MPH on high,$55) to remove leaves from my moss garden. Works great, but will also blow gravel on high speed with effort and the right angle. Might work well for you on the lower speed if you pack down the gravel well first. I would also suggest using an edging to keep the gravel separate from the moss and your square shapes sharp. Some gardeners use a soft broom to remove leaves. This works well for a small area, but the leaf blower can't be beat for bigger spaces. The rake is a loser. Too hard on the moss.

Sounds like an interesting project...jjane

thanks for the great idea JJane.
how difficult is moss to grow?
i'm in toronto in zone 6 and the moss will be in a sunny location/sandy soil.

should i be looking at other groundcovers?

In North Carolina, some types of moss do nicely, even with half day sun in the morning. With the leaves off the trees in the winter, most of the moss garden gets some sun all day until late afternoon & also does well. Depends on the type of moss, but in Toronto you should have even more of a safety margin. Afternoon sun seems more damaging than morning sun. Why, I don't know. Moss is easy to transplant. Dig it up, stomp it in and don't water, just transplant during a rainy few days. I killed more moss with watering too much until I got the hang of transplanting. Also transplant Fall thru early Spring, not in the Summer when moss usually goes dormant.
Best of Luck.....jjane

Rakes are lethal to moss! JudithJane is absolutely correct.

I use blower only, even the vaccuum attachment can do some serious damage.

Good luck, sounds like a neat project. I saw one at a garden show (checkerboard pattern) that was converted to a life size chessboard with 1 foot tall chess pieces. Suz

I two am building a checkerboard section in my garden. Maybe we saw the same picture in a library book? I plan to use Irish moss but have no idea if it will work. My squares are 16" with concrete patio squares. I live almost in z6 in z7, NWArkanas. I'd like to know how many plants per square I'd need as I am getting them from a Commercial green house. How fast do they grow. The pictures of the moss do look great but reality must set in. Any help out there? I'm also building a second squae using Mother of Thyme. I woner how that will work. Both square are in morning sun. Jim