Hi, all. I'm a novice gardener in Virginia. I'm new to this forum,

but I'm hopeful someone here may have some experience with an issue

I'm having.

I have two large foundation beds that receive full afternoon sun. I

had been battling wire grass and various other invasives in both beds

for several years. Last year, out of frustration with my weed

problem, I opted to remove all of the old shrubs and start fresh.

I tilled and prepared the beds in July, then covered both beds with

landscape cloth and 4" of mulch that I obtained for free from my

county recycling center. Satisfied that the weed problem was under

control, I planted a few evergreen shrubs in the fall and allowed

everything to sit until spring.

This weekend, I began filling in the beds with perennials. When

pulling back the mulch layer to cut through the landscape fabric and

dig a hole, I was surprised by what is happening to the mulch. It

appeared relatively dry on the top layer, but it was wet and matted

together underneath, and was connected with a web of white spores. I

recognized it as some type of fungus. While it is not consistent

across 100% of both beds, I found it at 28 locations where I planted

today. In two of those spots, I found clusters of cauliflower shaped

mushrooms growing under the mulch layer, but on top of the landscape

fabric. These beds always had excellent drainage, so with the wet

conditions this spring, I'm getting concerned. My mulch didn't seem

compacted, so I thought it was getting adequate air.

Has anyone encountered this kind of white fungus growing under their

mulch? I'm curious to know if the landscape fabric is the culprit.

I didn't think that water would have any problem draining through the

mulch and the fabric layers when I put it in. Can this much fungus

harm my new plants? Would it be a good idea to turn over/aerate the

mulch layer? Is there anything I can apply to the mulch that will

treat the fungus? And finally, is using the free mulch from the

county dump part of the problem? I've never had this trouble with

store-bought bagged mulch, even when used on landscape fabric.

Any advice you may have is appreciated!