Fabulous Ferns gained popularity in the Victorian age, when gardeners used them to mimic woodland spots under the shade of trees and shrubs. Stumperies – like rockeries, but made from tree trunks and logs – were the fashion, interplanted with ferns or combined with rocks and water to reflect a more craggy natural landscape.
FERNS Delicate foliage can bring low-maintenance splendour to shade, and will transform an otherwise drab area into a leafy paradise
ALL SHAPES AND SIZES erns come in an amazing range of textures, colours, sizes and shapes, so do take the trouble to get to know them in all their splendid glory by visiting a specialist grower during summer months. As well as British native ferns that are ideal for planting in drifts in shady corners, tall tree ferns are good to dot around to create an exotic mood in a sheltered spot. These will thrive in dappled shade if you keep them well away from the edge of a lawn so that the grass won’t starve them of food and moisture.
Ground hugging plants
F
Shuttlecock ferns
Top tip Ferns from tropical countries make excellent plants in a conservatory, terrarium or bottle garden where the temperature is always maintained at 10-15oC (50-59oF).
Delicate maidenhair fern
The maidenhair fern (Adiantum raddianum) is perfect for squeezing into the nooks and crannies of drystone walls and, in a modern setting, plants can be arranged in such a way that they create modern wall art.
Shapely and structured Shuttlecock fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and hart’s tongue (Asplenium scolopendrium) are effective in contemporary schemes when planted in geometric blocks or combined with lacy fronded ferns to create a textured tapestry of green to replace lawns and borders.
12 YOUR PERFECT GARDEN
Soft shield fern
PLANT COMBINATIONS
Hardy and evergreen
Spring blooms such as wood anemones, snowdrops, cyclamen and hellebores are excellent partners for unfurling ferns, while lilies and irises complement them in summer. The royal fern (Osmunda regalis) in particular, does well around boggy pond edges.
Polystichum setiferum or soft shield ferns are particularly good for giving winter interest – especially magical effects when their frost-encrusted lacy fronds shine in the winter sun and produce ghostly outlines when mists descend.
