Daily details from the garden to bring you inspiration throughout the year
There’s something quite other-worldly about the appearance of mushrooms in autumn, not least the alacrity with which they can materialise overnight. These are the fruiting bodies of fungi that dwell in soil and on wood, some in positive symbiosis with the contents of our gardens, others in slightly more codependent relationships, and others still positively malign, chomping through the living tissue of our prized specimens. It occurs to me that the nature of a fungi’s relationship with the plant world is no reliable indicator of the effect they can have on humans. Everyone’s favourite toadstool, fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) coexists in a fairly benign sort of way with the roots of birches and pines, though its mushrooms are poisonous to humans. Meanwhile honey fungus mushrooms (Armillaria mellea, pictured) are edible – if not recommended – while the destruction the rest of this bootlace fungus can wreak among woody plants is something not to be underestimated. text
Garden coaching with Andrew O’Brien
Just to let you know, I’ll shortly be opening up a few spaces for one-to-one online garden coaching. The final details are still being tweaked, but if this sounds like something you’d be interested in, let me know on this page so I can tell you as soon as booking opens.
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Hello! I’m Andrew, gardener, blogger, podcaster, and owner of a too-loud laugh, and I’m so pleased you’ve found your way to Gardens, weeds & words. You can read a more in-depth profile of me on the About page, or by clicking the image above.
