Tag: Dead Man’s Fingers

Most Visited Posts of 2018 on StephiGardens.com

Happy New Year!

Its always fun the end of the years to see what was the most interesting posts to my readers. Sometime it’s posts from previous years, sometimes this year. Here’s the top 10 most viewed posts in 2018:

 

Xylaria polymorpha Dead man's fingers
10. Dead Man’s Fingers  I have found these fungi off and on in my garden and still find them an odd curiosity. Xylaria polymorphs, or Dead Man’s Fingers, are very hard black knobs with a very tough white spore mass center. They tend to grow on hardwood stumps, decaying logs and even hardwood mulch. A common find in my garden, how about yours?

 

9. Interesting Plants Of Kauai  For a special anniversary a couple of years ago, we traveled to Kauai for a beautiful week on this exotic island. So much beauty in such a relaxing locale (Except for the chickens)

 

Christmas Tree
8.  2018 Stephi Gardens Holiday Gift Ideas This was my first foray into making holiday gift suggestions and it was a hit. I hope your holidays were wonderful and everyone got what they were hoping for! Look for another list next holiday season.

 

7.  Potatoes Part 1: Preparation and Planting The last few years I’ve been growing potatoes and chronicling my efforts. I’ve definitely had some years that are better than others, but it is an easy, fun and tasty backyard garden project.

 

6.  Creeping Thyme Update Based on the number of views I get on my creeping thyme posts every year, a lot of people must have problems with this ground cover. It is a great ground cover, but not maintenance free so does need a bit of attention every so often to stay healthy and lush.

 

5.  Fall Seed Gathering Means Beautiful Summer Zinnias  Ever since my friend Susan told me how she gets a gorgeous hedgerow of zinnias year after year, I’ve been excited to get my own zinnia and marigold beds laid down. It’s been so easy and such a huge payoff for minimal effort. What could be better!

 

4.  Pelicans in Illinois This post from September 2013 seems to always get a lot of traffic. I still read articles in the local papers about this mystery each fall. We’re used to pelicans in the south, but up north? Where are they going? Why has their migration route, back and forth from fresh water lakes in Canada and the North Central US to the southern US, Mexico and Central America, shifted east to the Illinois River? Not sure, but they’ve become a common site in the local rivers and lakes. 

 

Freezer Slaw
3. Freezer Slaw  My friend Kathy told me a few years ago about this fabulous recipe that her family has made for generations with the extra garden cabbage heads left in the fall. I’ve been making it ever since when the cabbage, green peppers and carrots all come into season. We too get to enjoy it now all winter!

 

Callicarpa
2.  Beautyberry Bush: Did It Survive The Winter My Beautyberry bushes haven’t had a lot of success, but they are still alive. I don’t think my yard is quite the right environment compared to their locations at the Morton Arboretum. It still puzzles me, and others based on the number of visits to this page from October 2013, how they pop up late each spring when I think they are dead. I’ve come to not pay attention to them, and each year they’ve come back  Patience is the word with Beautyberries in the northern climates.

 

Burning Bush
1. Curled Leaves on the Bushes  This post from August 2014 continues to be one the most visited posts I’ve written about. I still don’t know exactly what happened to my bushes, but it sure seems to be a common issue. Thankfully mine all survived, but I sure was worried.

 

Spring Surprises

 As I was walking around the yard the other day, a few surprises caught my eye.  

Why was there fuzz in the garden?

rabbit nest

On closer inspection this is what I saw!

rabbit nest

rabbit nest

As best as I could tell, there were 4 babies snuggled in the nest

rabbit nest

The next day I went to show my husband…Gone!

rabbit nest

The Dead Man’s Fingers were back (Dead Man’s Fingers) although in a new spot.  I’m not sure why they showed up in a new location and what they might be growing on.  But, still as oddly interesting as before.

Dead Man's Fingers

We had a bit of a mushroom farm going after a nice spring rain.

mushrooms

I love looking up close at mushrooms… I thought they were all the same, but on closer inspection actually quite different.

mushrooms

 

mushrooms

These tulips are some of the oldest flowers in my garden.  Most tulips here are considered annuals because of cold or rodents, but these keep coming back year after year.  Sometimes better than others, too.  This year they are stunning!  

Pink tulips

And lastly, while I was out on a recent walk with a friend we came across a beautiful yellow magnolia.  In an area with an abundance of the usual, but of course striking pink magnolias, this was quite a surprise.  

yellow magnolia

We loved the assortment of spring flowers underneath.  What a beautiful spring garden.  I may need to plant one of those trees…

Have you had any spring garden surprises?

Dead Man’s Fingers

As the snow melted, I went out looking for any signs of life to announce spring is coming.  While out there, I came across these odd looking things.

Xylaria polymorpha

At first I thought it was something left by Daisy or another animal sometime this winter. After poking at it a bit out of curiosity, it was not.  Instead, my best guess is that they are Xylaria polymorphs, or Dead Man’s Fingers.  They are very hard black knobs and the centers are a very tough white spore mass.

Xylaria polymorpha (Dead Man's Fingers)

Xylaria polymorphs are not poisonous, but also not edible.  They usually grow on hardwood stumps or decaying logs, but in this case they seem to be growing on hardwood mulch.  There once was a maple tree in this location, so it is possible that there are some root remnants of that in the soil that it is growing on.  Has anyone seems these growing on mulch before?