As summer disappears into the distance and the leaves start to change colour in the Petwood gardens, we are starting to see the first real signs of autumn approaching. We are also beginning to see some of the more unusual plant life emerging if you know where to look.
At this time of year, there is a wide variety of fungi in the gardens ranging from Inkcaps to Bolete's and Fly Agaric. We sent our resident photographer out to capture some of them:
This particular mushroom, whilst very pretty looking, is not one that you or your four legged friends want to eat. It is highly toxic and should be avoided. We have spotted Fly Agaric under the large trees on the left hand side of the gardens and also near the swimming pool. Feel free to enjoy looking at it, but please do not touch it.
These unusual looking mushrooms were seen growing in our manure heap on the right hand side of the gardens behind the putting green. A little fact about these is that they can be used to make ink, as their name suggests. They are usually found in little clumps like these and prefer lose soil or manure heaps!
Field mushrooms aren't such a common sight as their natual habitat has been dwindling but there are some to be found in the more shady areas of the Petwood gardens (if the Muntjac Deer haven't eaten them that is). They are also incredibly susceptible to pesticides so will mainly be found in areas where these are not used.
We would be remiss if we did not draw your attention to the obvious fact that some mushrooms, like Fly Agaric, can be highly toxic to both humans and animals. We would therefore like to remind all dog walkers to be extra vigilant particularly during the winter months and not to let your dog eat any of the mushrooms on your walks around the gardens.