Question
Suddenly this summer the soil in my flower bed is covered with what, I think, is a fungus. It is black, looks like a honey comb with little seed pods in each little honey comb. It totally covers the ground. You can pick it up and it comes up in sheets. It is also killing the plants. I did spray today with fungicide - but I don't know if that's enough.

Answer
Hi Janice, It is a fungus and spraying with the correct fungicide will help. Most of these slime molds don't hurt plants unless they grow over and shade them.  However, they are often a symptom of other problems like excessive moisture, poor aeration from excessive mulch, etc..  The same conditions are conducive to Phytophora, Pythium and other really nasty soil fungi that may be growing along with them that can quickly kill plants.
Most of the fungus is underground, but if you see any sign of fungus growing on the soil surface, blast it apart with the water hose.  We want to try to prevent the reproductive stage. Use the proper fungicide every 2-3 weeks and you should be able to eliminate the problem.  Jim