2026/8 - Mildenburgbos Magic

 On the cusp of being able to tell you all about my garden awakening, I took myself to the largest forest on Voorne: Mildenburgbos. Actually not that large, we are a small island, but worth the effort!

It is a mixed forest of predominantly Oak, Beech and Elm, with an underplanting of prickly Holly. In fact I was amazed by how much holly there was! I have been coming here for 67 years, and this was the first time that holly really sprang out at me. By the way, February is a much more interesting month to visit than, say, July.

In Summer the forest floor is a mass of nettles and other weeds, and you lose the contours of the forest. Whereas in February you can see how this area is laid out, as original parkland bordering the sand dunes. The mansion whose park it used to be, has long gone. But that Ginkgo in the photo above is an original tree from the mansion era. It is huge!

Both Oak and Beech trees are in danger from the extremely dry years we have had. Here in Willow country, those trees are precious, and I'd hate to lose them.

When I was a child these fallen down branches would have been cleared away, but thank heaven they leave them to rot now. The insects and small forest floor creatures are grateful, and so are the fungi. You can tell how wet everything is; there was an entire day of rain the day before.

The entire area is criss-crossed by waterways, for water (duh!), but also to act as anti-fire ditches.  When I stopped to take this photo there was a small woodpecker hacking away above my head, not taking any notice of me.

There are roe deer here as well, but I didn't spot them.

When you come closer to the dunes, the huge Oaks disappear, and Pines appear. But the Jays and Red Squirrels have burried a lot of nuts, and all those saplings you see in the back are young Beech trees.

When I admired this fungus I was scolded by a Red Squirrel, who clung to a Pine next to me, and did not like me stopping. They are rare, so I was happy to be called nasty names.

On one side of the forest there is a stinzen garden, a collection of early flowering bulbs and roots which grow wild on land of old mansions and castles. This garden is cared for by volunteers, so you should take the word 'wild' with a pinch of salt. They keep that holly at bay!

I love those cheerful Aconites, and they were happy with the sunshine, I could tell.

A gorgeous bed of Ferns looking their best in the sunshine.

As a child I adored this side of the forest, as it had 'hills'! Growing up amongst the flat meadows of my polder, anything higher than a molehill was amazing to me. The highest hill in Mildenburg is approx. 10 m., and I know now that they are actually ancient dunes.

Isn't this idyllic? Those ducks in the background were making a hell of a racket, splishing and splashing away.

Yes! We are on the right side of the Winter months again! Whatever the weather may yet throw at us, we will have some sunny days to enjoy.

I bought fresh soil for my balcony, so will start to prepare for the days Puck and I spend with the doors wide open. Can't wait!

Have a good weekend wherever you are, and do visit my website at Renée Grashoff Schrijft where I will share the publishing date of my 2nd part of the trilogy about murder in Brielle soon. Or follow me here, on blogger, for weekly instalments about gardens. Take care!

Renée Grashoff 

2025/52 - Toadstools, Fungi, is it all a Mushroom to you?

 My neighbourhood boasts a lot of oak trees. And although built up as we are over here, the grass verges underneath those lovely trees are a treasure trove of toadstools and fungi. I don't claim to be very knowledgeable, I can tell the difference between an ordinary  mushroom, an oyster fungus and a shi-take, and that is about it. But I do enjoy spotting them, so there being a lack of gardening news, that is exactly what I have done for you.*

There are dozens of these curious looking 

Elfin saddle (Helvella crispa) underneath one oak. I am told by my book on fungi it is also called White saddle.

 At first I thought some silly bugger had dropped a load of crumpled tissues...

Anyway, very exotic looking, and to me very welcome!

Not a great photo, sorry!

This is a very common kind underneath our oaks. It is a Lactarius quietus, or milk cap mushroom. They sometimes form circles, what we call 'heksenkringen' (witches circles), and apparently some kinds are edible. But others are very poisonous...so would you take the risk? Not me!

Another find underneath the oaks is this one. It could be an oak gall?

At first I thought it was an Earthstar, but on second thought...no.

Those oaks were infested by the procession caterpillar some years ago, and the council hung up a load of bird boxes in the hope the tits would eat the caterpillars.

If I am correct, this is a family of Lycoperdon perlatum, or Warted Puffball. I took this photo in the Arboretum in Rucphen.

This huge willow hosts what we call 'elfenbankjes', a seat for elves. I believe these are Laetiporus sulphureus. The tree lives in Kralingse Bos in Rotterdam, where I took a walk last August. If I am correct, this is the famous chicken of the woods, and edible. But again, I would never take a bite out of an unknown fungus.

This belongs to the same family, often confused with the abovementioned,  but it is a Meripilus giganteum I found in the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden. A giant polypore. Aren't those colours amazing?! It was as large as a good sized tea tray.

These ones are called Peziza cerea I think. I found the cup fungus on a woodchip path very close to my house, and was quite chuffed, as I had never spotted them before.

* disclaimer

I am no expert! As I mentioned before, I can safely identify 3 edible kinds of mushroom, in the supermarket, and that is it. So please, do not take my word for the identification and never ever eat any of the fungi above. This blog is just for fun!