Late Winter is Looking Like Spring

I have been publishing this blog for over ten years, and sometimes I think I am running out of things to say. I wonder if people are tired of seeing pictures of the same scenes, after all these years.Here is the February 2020 edition of my woodland garden moss path. It is lush after all the winter rain we have had. Last year I added the blue bottle tree.Then I wander out into the garden and feel the pulse of the turning seasons. Every year I am thrilled at subtle changes, with the same familiar plants doing well or new ones settling in. I never grow tired of my garden. I always find some little surprise, like these fern shadows on my moss path:

Or this cluster of trident maple seed pods; I think they are fascinating!

So here we are with a new year, and late winter is looking like spring, just as it does every year about this time. Occasionally we may have a few inches of snow dumped on all my late winter bloomers, just to keep things a little exciting. No snow yet this winter, but it could still happen. Probably not. Here in the Deep South it really is feeling like spring.

So here are some familiar plants, my reliable late winter bloomers. They make me happy. I hope you enjoy seeing them, too!

Hellebores, also called lenten roses, will bloom for months. They eventually fade to white, then green. I have an assortment. Over the years, many have intermingled and produced assorted offspring:

Daffodils began to bloom this past week:

Variegated winter daphne (Daphne odora 'Marginata') has been blooming a while. The waxy blooms are fragrant. Good drainage is critical for this plant, and I grow mine in a large pot:

Flowering quince (Chaenomeles) is another reliable, long-blooming plant. These flowers are from the original shrubs that were here when we moved to this property in 1985:

Here are a few more images from my late winter garden. First is Deodar cedar 'Feelin' Blue.' It was a few inches tall when I planted it more than a decade ago. It has always been one of my favorites:

This is another woodland garden view I have featured before. I like how the tree shadow points to the gazing ball:

And finally, I am particularly pleased with a resurrection fern growing in the crack of a large boulder:

May all of you find joy in a garden!  Deb

Finding Turkey Tail Mushrooms

If you live near a forest, chances are you have seen turkey tails. I am not talking about Thanksgiving bird feathers, but about a type of shelf or bracket fungus that resembles its namesake. The scientific name is Trametes versicolor.

These fungi are found throughout the world on dead hardwood stumps and logs and sometimes on trees that are still alive. They can also grow on conifer wood. They play an important role in the biology of the forest, digesting dead wood and providing food and shelter to numerous tiny insects and spiders.

Recently I noticed these fungi growing on a log in my woodland garden, and their beauty motivated me to do some research.

Turkey tail brackets have colorful concentric circles of white, bronze, cinnamon, and sometimes blue, green, and orange. Their cups are hairy or velvety. Fresh turkey tails are thin and pliable but become stiff with age.

Their undersides are pale, yellowish to white with many tiny pores that are visible to the naked eye, about 3 to 8 pores per mm, as seen here:Because of their numerous pores, they are known as polypores. False turkey tail, Sterium hirsutum, looks very similar but can be distinguished from the true turkey tail by its lack of visible pores. Other types of shelf mushrooms may have gills on their undersides.

Turkey tail mushrooms are not very tasty, but they are edible. They have been used in folk medicine for thousands of years, usually brewed as a tea, and they are being actively studied for their medicinal value. They are high in antioxidants and promote the function of the immune system. Research has shown them to be beneficial in fighting certain cancers. Health food stores often sale turkey tail supplements and extracts.

The log that carries my colony of turkey tails also sprouts resurrection fern, Pleopeltis polypodioides, which wilts when the weather is dry but quickly revives with rain. Behind the log is my old woodland rabbit, and there are a few impatiens blooming to the side and a colocasia behind it. The colocasia flops too much, and I will probably replace it next year with something more attractive. It is a small vignette beside the woodland path. It is not flashy, but overall it is a pleasing combination and provides an interesting ecosystem to observe.