How-To: Winter Mushroom Wonderland

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Celebrate deep winter and the bitter cold with a unique seasonal floral arrangement. This miniature landscape brings the beauty of the forest into your warm and cozy home. It’s simple to create a tiny version of the woods, and adding mushrooms from the grocery store makes it all the more unusual and authentic. Mushrooms last even longer than flowers, making them a great choice for wintertime decorations. Add final touches of stones, branches, and pine cones for a tabletop winter wonderland.


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Materials

Containers I heart pedestals.
Mushrooms from the grocery store
Toothpicks
Dirt
Moss
Lichen, pine cones, sticks, rocks

Crucial Notes on Mushrooms: DO NOT PICK WILD MUSHROOMS for this project. At the worst, they could be poisonous, but they also will not last as long in the arrangement as mushrooms purchased from the grocer. Try to find the most interesting mushrooms that you can, but keep in mind the cost. I wanted to get some wild oyster mushrooms, but at $25 per pound, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead I found some tall trumpet royale mushrooms, that were much less expensive. But even standard button mushrooms would be adorable in this project.

Directions

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Step 1: Fill the container with dirt.
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Step 2: Place a chunk of moss on the dirt.
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Step 3: Insert toothpicks into the base of the mushrooms. I used clusters of mushrooms, so it took 2 toothpicks to anchor them securely.
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Step 4: Press the toothpicks into the dirt, so that the mushrooms stand in place. Don’t they already look like they just sprouted up right there?
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Step 5: Add lichen around the little scene.
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Step 6: Fill in the spaces that are left with stones, pine cones, broken branches, or any thing that might make the winter scene more lovely. I added a tiny deer.

10 thoughts on “How-To: Winter Mushroom Wonderland

  1. ILK says:

    There is nothing unsafe about picking wild mushrooms, even if they are poisonous! Just remember not to eat ANY unidentified mushrooms (and make sure your pets don’t eat them either). There is no reason why they would not last just as long as store-bought mushrooms if you find ones in good condition, and the cost is much less (free!).

  2. Brookelynn says:

    You are correct that if chosen wisely, and carefully, wild mushrooms can be safe. I love eating chantrelles from the wild woods near my home. But I wrote my caution for readers because even experienced gatherers can make errors. I would hate for someone to pick some mushrooms, and then touch their mouth without washing their hands and then become ill. Some of the most attractive mushrooms can be the most dangerous, and I feel that a blanket warning is the most responsible thing that I can include. As for the duration of wild mushrooms, I notice that where I live mushrooms return to the earth very rapidly, where as mushrooms cultivated for the store do generally have a long shelf life.
    Thank you for writing in! I really appreciate the balance that your perspective offers! Cheers!

  3. JaninB says:

    Surely there is no mushroom which is so deadly poisonous that simply touching hand to mouth would be dangerous- and that would only happen in the worst case scenario.

  4. Galen says:

    I don’t know about all areas, but there are mushrooms where I live which are strictly off-limits. Since each cap contains enough poison to kill several people, the rule is don’t touch. I don’t know if anyone has ever died from touching poisonous mushrooms, but I know of people who have had mild mushroom “experiences” after handling amanita mushrooms. Seems better to be safe and not mess with wild mushrooms unless you know what you could be getting in to.

  5. Sono-Ma: Holly says:

    Our family just spent a day photographing the wild mushrooms growing in our yard. They are certainly lovely, although we did take caution not to touch them. Please see our photos and story at: http://sono-ma.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-morning-wonder-life-springs-from.html
    Our blogging friends at Sonoma Garden also spent a day gathering wild mushrooms for culinary delights. Their adventure also involved great caution, but with the help of local mushroom experts was quite the delight! http://asonomagarden.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/mushroom-hunting-on-the-sonoma-coast/

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