Peter Dowdall: Fungus has had bad press. Mushrooms are nature's alchemists

Fungi are quiet workers, the great recyclers of the garden, breaking down what's dead to feed what's living. Without them, we'd be knee-deep in garden debris, and nothing would rot

Shaggy inkcaps: 'Fungi like inkcaps are not only extremely beneficial in the garden, but are also quite beautiful,' writes Peter Dowdall. File pictures

I think fungi have had a terrible time of it, reputation-wise. For too long, we’ve been told that fungus in the garden is bad news. If we see a mushroom, it means trouble. Marketers of fungicides have done a very good job of convincing us that fungi are enemies to be fought, sprayed, and eradicated. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

 The fact is, most fungi are not only harmless but they’re actually essential. They are the quiet workers, the great recyclers of the garden, breaking down what’s dead to feed what’s living. Without fungi doing their thing, we’d be knee-deep in garden waste and debris, nothing would rot, and the whole system would eventually choke under its own leftovers.