Day Five 26 November 2020
You can discover a host of wonderful photographs of summer flowers posted by gardeners who are participating in Cathy’s Week of Flowers challenge to brighten these grey days by sharing their favourite and most colourful flowers from their 2020 gardens.
I may be stretching the brief a little here, but the fruiting bodies of fungi are similar to plants as they produce spores. OK, so fungi are not plants, but they are an important part of the garden ecosystem. Wood Blewits (Lepista nuda) grow in my greenhouse and help to maintain the health of the soil by breaking down the manure in my compost mix. They have a soft, silky texture with a stunning colour palette from pale pink to amethyst. They are an autumn-winter fruiting fungus, so I’m stretching the envelope again. However, in mitigation, they are a reminder that there are beautiful things to discover in winter too! Will you smile a little if I tell you they are edible?
Oh yes, beautiful when examined up close and maybe not as colourful as flowers but certainly as intricate. Do they taste good?
An acquired taste, as they have quite a slippery texture. Not everyone can eat them, and as the Head Gardener is one of them, we just admire them.
Great photo. I lovely the purple tinge especially. I’ve not tried eating any though. 😉
There is always a health warning with eating wild fungi – don’t, unless you really know what you are eating!
Fungi come in wonderful shades and I admire your botanical knowledge of them – sadly, telling me they are edible does not make me smile but instead screw up my face in mild fear…