Category: David

Mulberries ripening on a mature tree in the front yard of the Dirty Duck / Black Swan inn by the river in Stratford on Avon.

Anyone who fancies a drink while gazing at the river and the passing tourists needs to take care. The tree’s contorted trunk makes a low arch over the way to some of the tables.

Even more hazardous: the fruit ripening season is a long one, all through the warmer summer months. Once ripe, the squishy fruit drop without warning, leaving deep, dark stains which might just be removable if they are treated at once.

Bancroft Gardens in Stratford on Avon lies between the canal basin, the river and the RSC theatre. Along the roadside edge of the open space, there’s a row of American sweetgum trees, a species of liquidambar. They make their most striking effect in the autumn, when the leaves change to a range of vivid colours. Most striking recently was these spiky balls. Are they fruit or nuts?

More summer mushrooms on a front lawn. This time, they were boletes, but too far away to narrow it down to a precise species.

The current little flush of summer mushrooms continues, with lurid boletes proving to be one of the most frequent. This one was some distance away, on a front lawn conveniently at waist level. So the picture shows the underside of the cap, where the spores come out of pores rather than gills.

The lime trees seem to have had an even longer than usual flowering season than usual this year. But it’s now over, and the seeds are finally beginning to ripen.

The garden in front of a block of flats. The raised lawn which regularly throws up several species of mushroom each year in their due seasons. There’s already been one set of blushers, much smaller than the usual size. They’ve now gone, to be replaced further along the lawn by others, size back to normal.