Happy National Mushroom Month!

September is one of our favorite months in the Holden Forests and Gardens. Why? Because it is National Mushroom Month. Many people celebrate National Mushroom Month by cooking and eating their favorite mushrooms. And we do too! But, we also celebrate the month by appreciating all that fungi do for forest health and the natural world around us. We have classes for you to take devoted to mushrooms and we’ll be posting on our blog all month long too.

We launch the month with some incredible photographs of mushrooms found at the botanical garden taken by gardener Sabrina Kozey.

Here we go!

Prior to being a Gardener at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, I was lucky enough to work in natural areas that did not have public access. I found some fascinating fungi that I had never seen before. It sparked an interest in fungi and mushrooms and now wherever I go in nature I always keep my eyes peeled for a marvelous mushroom to photograph. Even though you can find some interesting ones in areas less travelled, there are also some pretty awesome ones where you least expect them along popular trails. I know fungi Is not the first thing on your mind when visiting a botanical garden, but you can often find some wonderful ones around here. I am brand new to mushroom identification, which I have discovered can often be quite difficult. So, I am not going to try and identify all these mushrooms I have found (hopefully in the future I can) but here are some of the mushrooms I have seen around the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Enjoy!