Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Saturday 22 October 2022

Fly Agaric in the Garden


Last year for the first time we discovered Fly Agaric toadstools in the garden and I was thrilled. This year they have returned :)  Seven in total - 3 on the first lawn and 4 on the second smaller lawn. 






 I think they may have started appearing as they do form mycorrhizal associations with Silver Birches and we have a lot of these trees in the garden.











Please note Fly Agaric are highly toxic despite their pretty appearance!

Two other fungi in the garden. Sadly, no idea of id. I can only confidently  id about 6 species.






Fallen Whitebeam leaves.






D has planted some winter salad leaves and



we are still getting tomatoes :)




I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 Bridge Camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one could they please email me first)


11 comments:

Rustic Pumpkin said...

So happy for you. What a privilege to have them growing in your garden, isn't it? Not only growing, but obviously doing really well. Terrific photos. Wish I could help you with the other ones, but I can't, sorry. The leaves look really pretty too. Good luck with the winter crops of salad.

Ragged Robin said...

Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much and it is a privilege :) So glad they have come up again this year. Fungi are hard to id - so many similar species even when they look distinctive!!! Thanks re: the salad :)

Bovey Belle said...

How lovely you have them growing on your plot. With fungi, ID can be made from the different sorts of gills, the stype (or stem), the fact that some oxidise when exposed to air, and when I was keener, I used to do spore prints. Get a good book (I rely heavily on my Roger Phillips one) and perhaps consider joining a Fungi Foray - most Wildlife Trusts run them in the autumn. Boletus are usually easier to ID as they have a sponge type of gill. I think you first brown one could be Slippery Jack.

I'm still picking tomatoes from the polytunnel, and have several roses blooming, including my new repeat-flowering rambler Malvern Hills.

Rosie said...

How super to have Fly Agaric in your garden. I'm not good on identifying fungi either just two or three I recognise. Great to have winter salad we must do that again this year:)

Ragged Robin said...

Bovey Belle - Thanks so much. I do have two books - The Collins one and a Pocket Nature Guide. I will have to try again at id. A Fungi Foray is a good idea thug. You can learn a lot from them. I will start by checking Slippery Jack - thanks :)

Your rose sounds lovely. Rose in flower in Herefordshire but no idea what variety itis.

Rosie - Thanks so much. I find too many fungi look the same! Yes David loves growing these salad leaves in pots I think he got the idea from Monty Don. He is also in an Allotment Group on Facebook and people there are very helpful :)

CherryPie said...

I love to see toadstools, they are a pretty addition to this time of year.

The Fly Agaric is pretty on the outside hiding its darker nature within.

Ragged Robin said...

CherryPie - Thank you. I think to look at Fly Agaric is the prettiest of all our fungi.

The Wessex Reiver said...

How fabulous to have fly agaric in the garden. They may be poisonous, but what a fungi. Did you know there is 'a mythical fact' that reindeer - who can eat fly agaric - can get a little, shall we say chemically enhanced tipsy, a fact that is possibly the basis for Santa's Rudolph and the red nosed reindeer flying in the sky. Must be true - ho ho ho :-)

Ragged Robin said...

The Wessex Reiver - Thanks so much. Yes they are very beautiful and I was over the moon to discover them last year and again this year. Appeared again at almost the same date as last year. lol! re: Santa's Rudolph and co. I think I had read that somewhere about them eating it and getting tipsy etc :)

Millymollymandy said...

See how ridiculous this is, I can comment as MMM on your blog but not my own using my iPad! 😄

I too would be thrilled having those ‘toadstools’ in my garden. How wonderful for you! Crunching around through dry crispy leaves which are not really changed much in colour here in Spain makes me forget about autumn happening elsewhere, soggy leaves on wet (green) grass. Our housesitter sent us a video of the cats and our lawn still looks very patchy and brown, so I doubt there has been much rain. Most of my tomatoes were over before we left though, so great you are still getting some! 😁

Ragged Robin said...

Millymollymandy - Thanks so much but how strange!!!! I've never attempted to use my kindle for blogger (I don't have an ipad).

They are wonderful. Yes we have rain galore here now!!!! Too much at times! Went to an event today outdoors and it was muddy under foot wish I had put my wellies on!