It’s a gift shop, a clock store, a Christmas boutique…and I’m happy to announce that it is now my local mushroom headquarters. It’s Hickory Dickory Dock, on South Broadway in Nyack. I was first lured in by the cute garden outside which is flanked by wind chimes. A little gnome pushing his wheelbarrow (above) invited me inside.

Just past the threshold, I was pleased to discover all kinds of mushrooms, like these whimsical “Tippity Toadstools”. They can wobble in your garden for three seasons.

National Mushroom Month may officially be behind us (sniff sniff), but I see no logical reason for that to keep us from celebrating. Why shut down the party when Hickory Dickory Dock has these beautiful wooden mushrooms from the Black Forest in Germany? Some are decorative and some are incense holders:

These clips are made from German glass:

We might think of these as Christmas decorations, but I learned from co-owner Loreen Costa that in Germany people decorate with them all year round. They are connected to the European love of green space, open space, and regularly incorporating nature into their lives. What we in America call hiking and seem to do only occasionally, they call wandering and do on more of a daily basis.

I learned from Loreen that these polka dotted red caps are usually poisonous. Since humans tend to stay away from them, they therefore make good hiding places for “wichtels” which are kind of like the cousins of gnomes. (Pronounced Vick-tulls.) They are the caregivers of the forest.

For example, here is one of my new best friends:

And these are certainly some handsome fellows:

This mushroom gatherer is my new guru:

And this is my new home away from home:

I couldn’t resist these mushrooms made of felted wool:

At Christmas, I will hang him on our tree, but for now, he is relaxing on one of our poufs from CB2:

I highly recommend a visit to Hickory Dickory Dock in Nyack or a visit to their website. The wall of cuckoo clocks are wonderful, the grandfather clocks in the back room are gorgeous, and I noticed that they have a whole room of Halloween decorations…