The variety in shape, form and colour of the fungi that fruit in our garden, usually during the wet and warmth of summer, is incredible. In addition to the mushroom/toadstool forms that were featured in last week’s post, some other forms of fungi include bracket, crust, puffball, bird’s nest, earthstar, stinkhorn, coral, jelly ears, saddle and cup.
Continue reading “Fungilorious: Four trees hosting fabulous fungi”
To my amazement, not everyone with gardens is delighted to find mushrooms and toadstools growing there. Of course many fungi are in gardens anyway, but they are usually unseen until circumstances are right for some species to seemingly spontaneously erupt into fruiting.
Continue reading “Mushrooms and toadstools in our garden”
This young Vervet monkey is part of a group enjoying early morning winter sunshine while eating berries from the Pigeonwood (Trema orientalis) tree. I like how the youngster is taking advantage of a wild banana (Strelizia nicolai) leaf as a partial hammock. Continue reading “Winter in the garden: a selection of photos”
The visible structure of bracket fungus growing on dead wood in our garden; the whorls and striations are complex and striking. Continue reading “Wonderful whorls”
Once upon a time, not long ago and not far away, a White Starred Robin visited our garden pond. If I had the powers to understand the language of robins, what might I learn? Continue reading “The understorey: The tale of the White Starred Robin”
These delicate fungi appear suddenly, when the temperature and humidity are just right. Continue reading “Ephemeral fungi”
Not all fungi produce mushrooms, but for those that do, the mushroom is akin to a flower or fruit in a plant. This small mushroom is known as Fairies Bonnets and it lives on decaying wood. Continue reading “Fairy-tale fungi: The magic of mushrooms”
In the wild, grasslands and woodlands grow themselves without any help from us. To an extent (and in miniature) we can mimic this in our suburban gardens. Continue reading “Do not disturb: Let parts of the garden grow itself”
letting nature back in 