At the 2019 Northwest Flower and Garden Show there were plenty of intricate details that brought larger lessons to our display garden. Many key aspects were due to the huge support from partners that enabled us to combine in a very real, and beautiful way the connection between trees and mushrooms. At the show, a small display of mushrooms in our forest included downed alder logs that were growing—really they were super-glued, Reishi Mushrooms.
Many of our native trees can grow different fungi.
Fungi Perfecti is a well-recognized company that centers in medicinal and edible cultivation of mushrooms. They have a handy guide for information to grow both indoors and outdoors, and the level of expertise that might be necessary.
In order to help Puget Sound Conservation Districts represent the decomposition of downed woody debris Fungi Perfecti generously donated some real Reishi Ganoderma lucidum that grows on our native alder.
Cliff Cantor, a local tree expert, brought large alder pieces; he is responsible for a useful smartphone app called Trees Pacific Northwest.
Learn how to recognize trees, and that knowledge will help you cultivate, identify or forage for mushrooms. It is no surprise that our tree and mushroom display at the event required collaboration. We are rooting for you to keep rotting!
We also would not have had any native plants flowering, and simply been displaying twigs if it weren’t for HIMA Nursery, and our display would have lacked any structural diversity without the large trees from Big Trees, Inc. Thank you so much to everyone that helped us demonstrate best practices for gardens in the Pacific Northwest!
Anna Beebe, AmeriCorps Individual Placement, Community Engagement