Under the glaring sun of midsummer, what could be more cooling than a walk down a shaded path banked by the delicate tracery of ferns?
They seem to dispel the heat and lethargy of July and August. Perhaps it is their color—so refreshingly easy on the eyes.
Or, it may be the crisp foliage. For some of us, ferns mean fascination. And who can remain listless in the wake of adventure?
There are many more ferns than you would ever guess.
Ferns Belong in Every Garden
By now, you may be saying, “True, ferns are cooling, and they may be interesting, but I have no forest; I am just a backyard gardener. So what do ferns mean to me?” If this is your question, the best is still in store.
Hardy ferns belong not only in every garden but are among the easiest and most reliable plants!
They only require some shade or semi-shade and either humus or regular garden soil mixed with peat moss.
Ferns can be used as a cover for spring bulbs or as underplantings for broadleaf evergreens and flowering trees.
They make good foundation borders for the north side of a house and blend perfectly with wildflowers.
Some ferns are adaptable even to wall planting and bog gardens. For the very best appreciation of ferns, devote one part of your garden to them.
Learning About Hardy Ferns
The first step toward knowing the hardy ferns is to learn their full range of forms, sizes, and textures.
They fall into eight general groupings:
(1) Large coarse ferns.
(2) Medium-sized coarse ferns.
(3) Medium-sized delicate ferns.
(4) Distinctive growth forms.
(5) Small rock-loving ferns.
(6) Small spleenworts.
(7) Succulent forms.
(8) Unique forms.
Tall, Tall Ferns for Backgrounds
In the first group, we find ferns that grow waist-high or more. These provide good background material for the fern garden.
The ostrich fern (Pteretis nodulosa) is a stately member of this class. It is aptly named, for few plants look more like ostrich plumes.
The sterile and fertile (spore-bearing) fronds in some ferns look quite different. This is true of the ostrich fern because its fertile fronds look like shriveled mummies of the sterile.
In another large variety, both look alike, except the midsection leaflets of fertile fronds abruptly shrivel into brown spore-eases, suggesting a name, the interrupted fern (Osmunda claytoniana).
With sterile fronds similar to the interrupted, the cinnamon fern (O. cinnamomea) has different fertile ones, which are little other than narrow shrunken hangers for spore cases.
The Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica) is most easily distinguished by its rootstock, a fleshy cylinder growing horizontally just underneath the surface extending to great lengths which intermittently sprout stalks.
The evergreen wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis) offers handsome leathery fronds for year-round beauty in the large, coarse class.
Among the rarer large ferns are the broad, luxurious, gold-tinted fronds of goldie’s fern (D. goldiana), and the graceful evergreen Clinton (D. cristata dintoniana) and crested ferns (D. cristata).
A particular choice is the genuine evergreen male fern (D. filix-mas).
Sensitive Fern Is Not Sensitive
One of the most common of the medium-sized coarse group is the sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) with broad, oblique sterile fronds and tassels of spore cases for fertile fronds. Its name is a contradiction, for it is one of the least sensitive ferns.
Probably the name was suggested by the fern’s poor keeping qualities when cutting and the fact that it succumbs quickly to frost.
Likewise common but remarkably beautiful, the Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is a crisp evergreen, which would look quite appropriate in a yuletide arrangement.
Looking like a dwarf form of the Christmas fern, the polypody (Polypodium virginianum) has a distinct preference for carpeting ledges but, if necessary, will consent to live almost anywhere in shaded humus.
One less common of the medium-sized coarse group is the narrow spleenwort (Athyrium pycnocarpon), a fern of simplicity and charm.
Braun’s holly fern (Polystichum braunii) is a rarity in this group, with a fuzzy, bronzed effect.
Medium Sized Delicate Ferns
Often the most confusing to amateurs are the medium-sized delicate ferns. All have a soft, lacy effect.
Among the most easily distinguished, especially in the fall, is the spinulose wood fern (Dryopteris spinulosa intermedia) which is evergreen and therefore stands out sharply after the first autumn frosts have withered others of the group.
Florists widely use it because of its beauty combined with its keeping qualities. Boots fern (D. boottii) is an even more delicate version.
Another distinctive type in the shape of a slender triangle is the bulblet fern (Cystopteris bulbifera), so called because of tiny green bulblets carried on the underside of the fronds, which form new plants where they drop.
The lady (Athyrium filix-femina) and hay-scented ferns (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) are both quite common. They are easily confused.
The easiest way for the amateur to quickly distinguish them is to examine the roots, those of the hay-scented being like a horizontal wire with continuous sprouts for new growth while the lady has a densely crowned rootstock.
As the name suggests, the hay-scented grass has the pleasing fragrance of newly mown grass.
The New York (Dryopteris noveboracensis) and marsh ferns (D. Thelypteris) are quite similar but are singled out by shape, the former being oval and the latter triangular.
Both like moisture, but as would be guessed by the names, the marsh fern chooses the wetter spots.
Another attractive member of the medium-sized delicate group, the silver spleenwort (Athyrium thelypteroides), resembles the male fern so much that many amateurs confuse the two when not in fruiting season.
Rock-Loving Ferns
Many of the small, rock-loving ferns are so rare that they are seldom available to gardeners. Among the more common are the woodsias, miniature ferns seldom over five inches high.
Rusty woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis) is relatively rugged and can stand the mild sun. Its name comes from the brown scales and hairs on the underside of its fronds.
Blunt Lobed woodsia (W. obtusa) is more delicate in culture and appearance. Of similar form is the lip fern (Cheilanthes lanosa) which runs into the deep South.
Not unlike these in form and texture, the fragile fern (Cystopteris fragilis) is usually larger and more airy.
For miniature evergreen charm, there is the maidenhair spleenwort (Asplenium Trichomanes) which thrives so in crevices that it appears inseparable from the rock. The ebony spleenwort (A. platy neuron) is similar but substantially larger and darker.
Most of the succulent groups of ferns are of little interest to gardeners except the grape ferns, the most common of them being the rattlesnake fern (Botrychium virginianum).
It offers a choice of horizontal lace, bearing the spore cases aloft like a torch.
Maidenhair Ferns Are Distinctive
Of the distinctive growth group of ferns, the maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum) is probably the best known. Well, it should be, for it is truly a unique beauty.
A larger fern with a similar form is the royal fern (Osmunda regalis); it conveys the atmosphere of an ancient throne room.
The name of the oak fern (Dryopteris linnaeana) may suggest a lofty plant, but it is one of the smaller, more delicate ferns which may have been so named because it enjoys acid humus often found under oaks.
The oblique bearing of the narrow beech fern (D. phegopteris) is not unlike that of the oak fern but on a larger, coarser scale.
As one would assume, the broad beech fern (D. hexagonoptera) forms a wider triangle. Like a gigantic beech fern in pattern but not in habit, the bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) is a coarse, rugged fern that thrives on the poorest soils where most ferns will not grow.
The Unique Ferns
The last grouping—unique forms —contrasts sharply with the typical ferns. The purple-stemmed cliff brake (Pellaea atropurpurea), a small rock-loving variety, is more unique in color than in form, for it has a bluish-gray cast, earning it a special place in any garden.
The walking fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus) makes a rare novelty for limey, wet places in the shade. Its narrow, strap-like leaves have no indentations, and they walk, for new plants are formed when the leaf tips touch the earth.
All previous fern varieties are hardy natives of the eastern and central United States except for extreme southern areas. The range of many likewise extends throughout the western part of our country and into Canada.
Some are even native to Britain and Europe. All can be grown successfully in most American gardens and are available from plant nurseries.
Ferns from the West
Besides these, there are a large number of ferns exclusively native to the West. Among those suggested for Northwest gardens are the Anderson shield fern (Polystichum andersoni) and the sword fern (P. munitum), towering evergreen beauties.
Considerably smaller but no less beautiful are two other evergreens, the mountain holly fern (P. lonchitis) and the deer fern (Blechnum spicant), both possessing sleek, narrow fronds.
For rock gardens, there is the constricted alpine lady fern (Athyrium alpestre americanum), the tiny, dense lace fern (Pellaca densa), and a beady, silver-fringed evergreen called the Indian’s dream (Cheilanthes gracillima).
The rare American parsley fern (Cryptogramma crispa acrostichoides) forms a thrifty clump, suggesting the table garnish that gives it its name.
California’s tiny gold back fern (Pityrogramma triangularis) has triangular fronds with a golden reverse.
In addition to American natives, foreign ferns are coveted for hardy gardens. One of the most significant is the Japanese fern (Athyrium goeringianum plenum), a ten-inch, feathery gray-green fern.
There are also many hybrid English ferns with fanciful tufts, crests, and tassels. They are a special field in themselves.
A Place for Ferns
Once you know what hardy ferns you want for the garden, prepare a suitable location for them. Of course, the best place is under tall shade trees, but lacking this, any area which is lightly shaded and has moisture-retaining humus will suffice.
Transform a neglected corner of your lot, where the ground is rocky, hilly, or wet, into a fern haven. A naturalistic arrangement of ferns sloping down on either side to a winding path is a favorite plan.
The small delicate ferns cannot thrive when planted too close to rugged invaders such as the bracken, sensitive, ostrich, or lady ferns. Safe refuges for the frailest ferns are the nooks and crevices of rocks.
Maidenhair and ebony spleenwort, woodsias, cliff brakes, fragile, lip, and walking ferns delight in such locations.
For bulb beds and plantings, oak and beech ferns, maidenhair, and others with shallow running roots are ideal as they do not disturb the material with which they keep company.
Many of the larger ferns make good material for streamside plantings.
Planting Ferns in Your Garden
The easiest and quickest way to obtain the plants, of course, is to buy them from a reliable nursery. There are several carrying a wide selection.
The best transplant times are early spring before fronds unfurl or after the first frost in fall. If you have large fern clumps in your garden, careful division will multiply your supply.
44659 by Donald G. Allen