Seeing my garden soil through a magnifying lens.
The vegetable garden contains about 1,400 square feet of soil and goes to a depth of approximately 18 inches.
What I see
I found something in my garden that I’d never seen before; a bunch of tiny pods growing on top of the soil. They multiplied quickly around my plants and vegetables and kept spreading to all parts of the garden. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest and having had the advantage of traveling to various parts of the world, I'd witnessed many unusual organisms and ecosystems. But this growth scared me a little because it was spreading, and it was close to home, literally.
I poked the organisms with a knife because I didn't want to touch them. That's how I discovered they were all connected with a web of white filament. Some of them had opened to reveal seeds. This was a micro world, mind you. One that you might overlook unless you’re prone to studying garden soil with a magnifying glass.
I now know these pods are neither an animal nor a plant. They're called Bird's Nest Fungi. Eerily beautiful, they're a thatch-like network of living organisms that grow on the wood chips found in composted soil – often the kind with manure. While decomposing the wood, they convert it into nutrients, which ultimately improves the soil structure. It's an otherworldly look, but harmless. In fact, knowing it's fungi makes me look at garden soil in a whole new way. There's a fungus among us. Meaning there's a new normal in the garden I thought I knew.
Bird's Nest Fungi in an early stage.
Bird's Nest Fungi opening up to release spores. When water splashes into these nests, the spores are propelled to other areas of the garden where they continue to grow.
The open pods resemble a wasp nest.
You can see the fungi spreading under my vegetable plants. They look like little burrs.
How I see it
Aristotle once said, “Art imitates Life.” Creativity is inspired by nature or the events that we experience in life itself. Oscar Wilde challenged this by saying “Life imitates Art.” He felt that our life is informed and influenced by the art we create or see around us. This is of course a beautiful debate, but I won't take sides. I'll simply share two (among many) works of art involving bird’s nests. Both of them imitate life. But truth is I knew of the art before I discovered the fungus. And now, as I look at the incredible fungi I discovered in my garden, it reminds me of art.
This fabulous headdress is called "Bird's Nest" from The Widows of Culloden. It was presented during the 2006 fashion show created by Alexander McQueen.
The eggs in the Bird's Nest Headdress, created by Philip Treacy and Shaun Leane, are encrusted with Swarovski crystals and framed by Mallard wings.
The Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing premiered for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It's one of the largest steel structures in the world. The nickname "bird's nest" comes from the concept of how a nest is built with a lattice of twigs.
For further information on the Bird's Nest Fungus, go here:
Very interesting and thought proving article! Wonderful!