Welcome to Highland Island's garden spot and Highland Drive Elementary in Brecksville! Visit this site to check out what's happening in our school garden.
Thanks to the Akron Ladies Garden Club, a Horticulturist (A professional who studies the growth of flowers, fruits and vegetables) has indentified WE HAVE A FUNGUS AMOUNG US!
This is a picture of
Artillery Fungus aslo called Shotgun Fungus. It's not dangerous.
Can you find this in our garden?
What is Artillery Fungus?
A: The artillery fungus is a white-rotting, wood-decay fungus that likes to live on moist landscape mulch. It is in the genusSphaerobolus (Greek for “sphere thrower”) and is very common across the USA, especially in the East, as well as many other parts of the world. The most common species in Pennsylvania seems to be S. iowensis (contrary to previous reports – including our own). The artillery fungus is technically a “Basidiomycete” fungus (like the common mushroom that we eat), and probably is most closely related to a group of fungi called “earth stars”. However, the artillery fungus is much smaller that the earth star that you may see occasionally growing in your yard. There may be other fungi and fungi-like organisms growing in your mulch. (Ref. Penn State)
Last summer we were lucky enough to have a local Girl Scout group plant these flowers in our raised beds!
Mrs. Brinkman's class released butterflies! Some are still flying around before winter comes. Did you you know when the air gets too cold butterflies can't fly?
Throughout this blog I will offer links to great resources including what's happening in the garden in a monthly update, what other schools are doing in their gardens, activities in the garden, and more.
