Tree Tuesday

I am going to start my Tree series with the oldest tree in my garden.

A yew tree, Taxus baccata. This tree could well be older than our house. 

 It grows quite close to the church wall and according to old maps of the village a road ran this side of the church as well as on the current side placing the church on an island in the middle.

It is my belief that this part of the garden was once part of the church yard as there is no yew growing there now which is unusual as yew trees are most often planted in church yards so that stock animals can't graze on the poisonous branches. The wood of the yew was needed to make long bows. Maybe the road was added to the garden when the house became the Rectory (which it wasn't always) and part of the church yard was also taken into the garden.

We also have a well close to the yew and too far away from the house to be any real use to the house holders. I think it must of been the village well, this would mean the road ran between the yew and the well and our garden was much smaller!









It is very dark under this tree and not a lot grows in the shade. But this time of year we get this. It is a puff ball fungus, about the size of a football. This one is getting old, a month old or more I would guess. They start white and turn darker with age. When they are ready they are like husks, filled with the finest spores which "puff" out and are carried on the air to new ground to grow.