In this thread I shall post a few silly pictures of mosses, lichens, ferns, and mushrooms that have pleased me in recent walks around my garden and the PNW.
This first one is from my garden: a little clumpet of things growing on a lilac limb.
Goodmorning! After we had rain earlier this week many ferns jumped into fruity happiness. Here's a big one with the downward side of its leaves covered in fruiting bodies
I'm watching #WinterWatch. Which generall] I love.
But Chris Packham's discussion of fern lifecycles was rubbish. Gametophytes are pretty common - you don't need to go to temperature rainforest. There are loads in my garden (which has a sheltered damp spot). In Edinburgh, they're easy to spot along the Water of Leith between Stockbridge and the Dean Bridge.
Ok, I'm not the target audience - I grew Pteridium gametophytes and sporophytes too when I was doing my PhD, but still.
Kid and I took the dog for a walk on an old class IV back road. The ferns are fantastic, some of them over 5 foot tall. The problem is that they and the grasses are harboring so many ticks right now. Pulled off a half dozen dog ticks partway through the walk and another pile of them when we finished.
Something about #ferns & raindrops falling on still #waters, that instantly brings calming, #peaceful energies to my soul. #Nature provides many free to access & free to absorb, #HealingPowers 🙏💗
This is what I mean when I say “nature isn’t something you ‘go to.’” This fern has been living under my car for a long time. #Ferns, y’all. Not sure if I should encourage it by watering it, if I even could, or transplant it somehow. I’m worried I’ll damage it if I try, so it’ll probably just live there until it can’t. It’s kind of amazing though, isn’t it? #plants#botany
For #ThickTrunkTuesday I wanted to share this enormous old #liveoak#tree that has its own space by the Baton Rouge Clinic on Perkins Road in #BatonRouge#Louisiana. When the Clinic moved to this location, they preserved the tree and set aside an appropriately sized fenced area to protect its root system. The tree is thriving and so is the Clinic. Proof that we can live in harmony with nature if we do so thoughtfully. This oak supports an impressive colony of Resurrection Fern as well. I took these photos last week, and you can see the new spring growth on the branches.
With it being really shitty outside, I decided to do something creative and put the tropical planter together I have been thinking of for a while.
Some of the plants are from cuttings, others I've had for a while, and they weren't happy on their own. The microclimate of the planter should help, especially in the ultra dry winter months. I have several epiphytes in there, for which I have a soft spot.
The barrel is half a proper bourbon barrel I got on a sale.