Cardiospermum halicacabum Here is a link that might be useful: Love in a Puff

I see trees in Victoria sold under false pretense also. Since Washingtonia palms are cheaper than Trachycarpus (hardy) palms, some nurseries in Victoria will sell them. People see cheaper trees and purchase them. For the life of them, some can't see the difference between the two. Washingtonia is marginal and causes confusion when it is lost while Trachycarpus is mint next door. Some gardeners quit on some exotics because they have failed. -Because they have simply planted the wrong thing. It's like San Fran has palms but they don't cultivate coconuts. People assume that nurseries will sell the right stuff. Many plants in Victoria are sold with the wrong label. Some nurseries don't even know that they have false labels because they don't know their plants. They just sell them. Victoria is great for granny plants or English Gardening but I find them very inadequate with exotics. Shopping for plants in Vancouver is quite interesting. There I can chat with nursery people who know about the latest plants and exotics that can be grown in zone 8. Prices are also better. I know a hobbyist here in Vic who grows Puzzle trees from local seeds and the nurseries double the price on his baby Puzzles. He also grows Windmill palms from local seeds. Some in Victoria think that these palms have sterile seeds. Probably because they don't realize that it may take 3 months to germinate. Many in Victoria don't experiment. Sometimes you must learn for yourself. I was told (before I had moved here) by folks in Ontario that there were no Sequoia specimens in BC. The plant world is so big that it's amazing what we don't know. Even about the zones and possibilities within our own country. I show photos of the BC coast to people in southern Ontario and they are shocked or think that the pictures cannot be true. Is BC that far from the rest of Canada? Maybe the information age will draw us closer? Cheers Here's a garden in Victoria with proper exotics: Here is a link that might be useful:

the white thing is just a fungus on the wood mulch ... they come.. they go .. they are part of ma natures realm .. ignore it.. study it... enjoy it.. some of them are pretty cool ... no need to do anything about it ... i cant really see the hole ... mice/ voles/ chipmonk/ toad/ snake??? who knows.... does it really make a difference ... ???? crush it closed.. if it reopens.. something is around.. if not .. it is gone ... frankly.. i dont really think snakes dig holes.. so what made the hole.. and what is now in the hole can be a whole nother thing.. just to horrify you a bit more.. lol ... 9 out of 10 times.. after you step on the hole and close it.. nothing ever comes back to re-open it .. ken

No one can tell you anything without a picture