For decorating your home indoors, making it feel cool, woodsy, and rich, softening stark, harsh architectural lines, or unifying a decorative scheme—nothing rivals the beauty of graceful, green ferns. Here are plants with such purity of form you can’t go wrong however you use them. In addition to decorative value, ferns give you a great … Read more
Many dwarf ferns seem to have been fashioned especially for rock pockets. They are the loveliest of choice plants in size and their ability to serve so appealingly in softening the abrupt meeting of earth and rock and blurring the outlines of sharp-edged stones. Some, like the bladder fern, will gracefully drape over a rock … Read more
Ferns of one kind or another can be grown in practically every situation in the modern home except perhaps in the sunniest windows. This is because, in their native habitats, most ferns grow in dense shade. The choice of ferns suitable for the home is somewhat restricted, however, by the fact that some of them … Read more
The hot, muggy days of August are good days to lie in hammocks and turn our thoughts to cool green ferns. And September is a good time to move ferns into the garden. Almost every garden has some spots that would be enhanced by the beauty of ferns, and gardening pleasure is sure to be … Read more
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 … Read more
Excitement ran high in botanical circles of Michigan following the recent discovery here of one of America’s rarest plants, Hart’s tongue fern (Phyllitis scolopendrium). This plant has simple, lanceolate fronds, sometimes auricled at the base, but their resemblance to the tongue of a deer has prompted its distinctive common name. It lives in moist, shady … Read more
To many people, every fern is long, slender, furry runners over the pot’s side is a “rabbit’s foot” fern. Their grandmother had one; she called it that, and that is what it is, as far as they are concerned. To a certain extent, they are right, but Mr. Schneider, in his book “Choice Ferns,” distinguishes … Read more
Ferns seem to me to be in the neglected bracket, at least when considered as house plants. These few words, with the pictures, will, I hope, serve to remove them from this class. Ferns Are Adaptable While these plants have no bloom, make no mistake about the color added to any home where a fern … Read more
While I like all ferns—they remind me of cool, shady woodland dells—I think my favorites are the two strange ferns – the showy hart’s-tongue and the staghorn. Hart’s-Tongue Fern Hart’s-tongue (Phyllitis scolopendriurn) is found frequently in Europe, and it is a favorite wherever grown. The name comes from the shape of the fronds, which are … Read more
If you have a greenhouse or a cool enclosed porch and would like to grow something unusual, a true conversation piece, you should buy a staghorn fern. Platycerium: Native in Tropical Countries This genus, Platycerium, is native to tropical Africa, Asia, and temperate Australia. These ferns have leaves (called fronds) of two kinds: sterile clasping … Read more