Friday, January 22, 2016

Mushrooms and Berries, in unexpected places

This is the second winter I've used these cheap woven hanging planters from IKEA (made from water hyacinth, according to their website). For some reason the Maidenhair Ferns I planted in them this fall aren't happy, the ones in the ground look great so it's not the weather. The little Sedum is fine, so I would think that rules out too much rain. Dunno.

But the interesting thing isn't what's growing (or not growing) in the container...it's what's growing on the container. Ladies and Gentlemen we have mushrooms...

Lots of mushrooms.

They're kinda cool don't you think?

Since there's plenty more rain in the forecast I predict continued growth.

At least something is enjoying the nonstop wet conditions.

Heading into the back garden the other say something vibrantly blue caught my eye in a small patch of Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nanus' (dwarf mondo grass).

Little tiny berries...

The black berries on Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' (black mondo grass) are held up above the foliage on strong stems, I think I like this hidden approach better. Although I guess with black berries and black foliage you wouldn't really see those berries if they weren't held proud.

These two unexpected garden surprises are reminders that next Friday, January 29th (the last Friday of the month), brings the return of my "Favorite Plant" feature, after it's holiday hiatus. Won't you join in the fun and share photos of the plants that stood out in your garden during the month of January?

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30 comments:

  1. Most of my maidenhair ferns are in rather dry locations. I wonder if they are wetter than they like or getting too windblown perhaps. Love the dwarf mondo grass. We can't grow the black one but I have been looking at the tiny green one for a while.

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    1. The short green mondo has been very picky about where it lives in my garden. When it's happy it's very happy (like here) but when it's not...

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  2. You couldn't have planned or planting those mushrooms better! What fun!

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  3. I always love seeing mushrooms! True when seen on a favorite tree that's not a good thing, but anywhere else means healthy soil -- even when the soil is in a pot. Are those single-season baskets, disintegrating after a few months?

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    1. These baskets are my winter containers, two years running. I hate seeing empty hooks but don't want the freeze/thaw to ruin any of my ceramic containers. I think they're meant to last much longer than a single season...when used under better circumstances.

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  4. Those little mushrooms are very cute!! As long as they are not damaging the plants. And the blue berries are very pretty too :) Nice surprises!

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    1. I wonder how big they'll get? (the mushrooms)

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  5. Adorable mushrooms and the mondo grass berries are a swell color! Thanks for the reminder about next Friday. Hopefully I'll remember this month!

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    1. And if you don't...there is always next month...

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  6. I wonder if the mushrooms will dry? That would be very cool!

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    1. Hmm...that's an interesting question! I'll let you know in July, when it's finally dry around here!

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  7. The berries on that mondo grass look so perfectly spherical and bright, I might have thought someone dropped some gumballs into your plants!

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    1. Right? When I first saw them I thought they were fake, that perhaps my husband was having fun.

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  8. Whoa, dude. Skip the cheap hanging planters, find an old pot and make a groovy macrame plant hanger! I bet Sheila or I can still remember how to do it!😄
    Love those blue berries.

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  9. Cool berries on the mondo grass! Thanks for the reminder--I need to get some new hanging baskets for the front porch. That's something to look forward to! :)

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  10. Cute mushroom and berries are great surprises to find in the garden. And that blue is such a great color.

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  11. The blue berries are so cool. Dianella produces blue berries like that, too.

    I can already tell you the stars of the month here are Aloes, but that's probably not a surprise.

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  12. I love the mushrooms, especially when you can view them from below. I didn't know that mondo grass produced berries in that bright blue color - that alone seems reason to buy some.

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  13. The mushrooms on the containers make for a nice look. And those shiny berries also!

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  14. Cute little mushrooms. I love seeing the architecture of their gills. My dwarf mondo had a couple berries earlier, but they disappeared at some point. Something must have eaten them. I don't think I've ever noticed that Selaginella before. I'm a little envious. I wonder if I have any spots in my garden I could keep moist enough to grow it.

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    1. I've seen the birds eat the berries off my black mondo, so maybe it's them? I've tried the Selaginella in a couple spots with no luck. I think it loves getting the run off from when I water the veggies in the dive in the summertime. And bonus, it doesn't mind Lila laying on it.

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  15. The undersides of mushrooms are their most beautiful feature. How clever of them to place themselves on a hanging planter. There must be some model genes in there somewhere.

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