Ferns

Ferns are wonderful for the shaded woodland garden, blending gentle textures and forms in a green tapestry with little need of gaudy colors; they are the perfect foil for trilliums and native orchids. Some species will provide something green where little else stands a chance of growing due to low light levels and adverse moisture conditions. Essential for shady waterfall gardens and shaded rock gardens, ferns provide graceful fillers and accents all over the garden. They impart a sense of calm to the landscape and intrigue us as their fiddleheads unfurl. Despite their delicate appearance, ferns are tough and adaptable plants, most species are easy to grow as long as their wants are understood. They haven't survived for as long as they have without being quite adaptable. With a bit of help from Dr Storer we finally got around to upgrading our rather pathetic fern listing, the new additions are either spore grown, or tissue cultured, primarily from Mickel’s collection but also from Judith Jones and other well-known fern growers.