Something that did thrive in my garden (as you might have surmised from the photographs at the top of today's blog entry), was the "return" of mushrooms, which are a thing that, once upon a time, I found to be an eyesore, as I indicated in a previous post.
They once again popped up in the container which "houses" my Continus Coggygria AKA Smokey Bush (seen in the first image) as they had done before, but they also appeared in the container which is the home to my first Paeonia suffruiticosa AKA Tree Peony (seen in the second image), a shrub that I have discussed in many blog posts which you may refer to by going to the labels menu on my blog (to the left of all blog entries) and clicking on the selection designated as Paeonia suffruiticosa (Tree Peony). Additionally, over three dozen images of this lovely shrub are featured on Flickr as indicated by the thumbnails posted below, and which may view in larger sizes by going to this link.
But what about the mushrooms? What are you going to do about those? These are questions you may be asking, given that I've mentioned their return at the beginning of today's blog post. For that answer, I turn once again to Michael Kuo, the man I referred to in my blog entry regarding the first appearance of mushrooms. Here is what he had to say in answer to those who find mushrooms invasive, as I once did:
"No; your yard (urban terrace-container garden in my case) is the invasive. Your grasses, flowers, vegetable plants, and ornamental trees are anything but natural to your area. In short, you have taken a big chunk of an ecosystem and deliberately destroyed it, planting not only your house, but invasive species everywhere. I don't mean to be confrontational here--and I do own a home with a yard full of non-native organisms. But we should be honest about what's going on, rather than pretending that our artificially created environments are 'natural,' while the weeds and mushrooms are 'invasive.'
"If your mushroom is actually a species that does not belong in your area, it is probably only there because it is attending to something non-native that you put there. Your mulch may be cypress mulch. Do cypress trees grow in your area? Woodchips and mulch from Home Depot or Wal-Mart come from who knows where, and they are often accompanied by invisible mycelia . . . Now stop for a moment to think about how ironic it is that we often create woodchip trails through our forest preserves in an effort to keep people from tramping through the woods and harming the ecosystem!"
Last week, after I read Kuo's opinions regarding mushrooms and invasiveness, I felt somewhat humbled as I have thought of myself as being sensitive to how the human race invades the environment of nature. Kuo's points about mushrooms and invasiveness were not lost on me. In fact, his attitude reminded me of a recent article about the so-called invasive geese in Prospect Park which is in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, where there is an on-going brutal battle about whether to get rid of the "invasive" geese (by killing them) or allow them to be in the park unharmed by humans. The article, Fowl Thoughts (which appeared in April 2011 in New York magazine and can be referred to by clicking here), includes a statement, made by Mary Beth Artz, an "unofficial" spokeswoman for geese's rights. Artz's statement was in response to the issue raised by those who are "anti-geese" who are concerned about the presence of unsightly poop throughout the park making the atmosphere unpleasant as a result of the presence of geese. Artz apparently said, "No, its not pleasant to look at. That doesn't mean we should kill them."
And while I would not appreciate geese droppings in my garden or neighborhood, I don't think killing the bird is the answer either. In 2009, when geese flew into the airspace of Flight 1549, forcing its captain ("Sully") to land in the Hudson River, some of the aftermath talk raised this question: Do geese invade the air space or do humans invade their space; after all, whose birthright comes with the ability to fly?
The answers to the question regarding geese and just whom is invading whom and the answer to gardeners and mushrooms regarding "invasion" is a debate that will go on long after I have left this world. For now, as for me and my mushrooms, I'll let them be. They can duke it out with my herbs, vines, flowers, plants, shrubs and trees – unless they bring real harm to them.
Meanwhile I'll mind my own business on the issue of mushrooms in my terrace garden and focus on the things that are under control in my lovely urban garden, such as completing my Name Tag Project , an endeavor I introduced a couple of weeks ago and one that I have made progress in completing as discussed in other blog entries, including ones you may refer to by clicking here and here. As of yesterday, I have photographed twelve more of the things which I grow in my terrace garden and posted them to Flickr as evidenced by the thumbnails posted below.
Now, I only have eighteen more name tags to add and ultimately photograph for Flickr, but for now I have a good excuse for my delay (as I will not meet my self-imposed August 31, 2011 deadline) and that is this: Jennie has not finished writing them but plans to by next week. Her handwriting is awesome and it is well worth the wait.
In the meantime, dear reader, I realize I have shown you photographs (within the aforementioned "name-tag-related" blog posts as well as within images on Flickr) of the classy name tags, but perhaps seeing one next to a mushroom (as it appears in the photograph which includes yellow arrows pointing to name tags that are within the containers of two different things). This will give you a sense of the name tag's size.
Upon your having read my entry, dear reader, I am interested in you weighting in with your thoughts and ideas on the "so-called" invasiveness of mushrooms, geese or anything else for that matter.
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