Cooperative Living August 2015 - 26

GARDEN MUSE by Paula Steers Brown, Contributing Columnist
T
AFancy for Ferns
he fern's Latin name,
Pteridophyta, reminds me of
the dinosaur name Pteridactyl,
which seems appropriate for
a plant so primitive.
Ferns preserved as fossils from millions of
years ago have fronds that look pretty much
the same today. They served as a food source
and then helped form soil over rock.
Ferns are interesting for many reasons: their
reproductive spores on the underneath side,
their softly arching shapes, their growing patterns
and botanical parts of fiddleheads,
scales, and hairy stems.
They produce neither flowers nor fruit, yet
they are highly ornamental. As Thoreau said,
" Nature made a fern for pure leaves. " And
those leaves have no rival in their ability to
produce an airy, cooling effect on the
landscape for late summer.
Ferns are sometimes referred to as
" pioneer plants, " meaning they are the
first plants to grow in an area that has
experienced great change such as wildfire,
flood or earthquake. Spores are windborne
and so are likely to land on the bare soil of
changing habitats and take root easily. They
are often the first plants to establish on new
land from volcanic lava that has hardened.
You may have seen ferns growing from the
crevices of rocks - they are amazingly hardy.
And luckily, they do not please the palate of
voles, rabbits, or even deer.
Their range is enormous in size, color, form,
substance, and texture, and they can thrive in
a wide variety of light, soil, and moisture conditions.
We tend to think of ferns as growing
in damp forests, but some can grow in
deserts. They can grow as tall as trees or can
hug the ground.
One of the most stunning, the silver fern
tree, the national emblem of New Zealand,
has silvery fronds with pure white undersides
that Maori warriors used to mark paths so
they could find their way in the dark. The East
Coast native, lady in red, sports eye-catching
red stems.
A personal favorite is the evergreen
autumn brilliance, whose young fronds
24
Mixed
shade walk
at Lewis Ginter
Botanical Garden
" digit ferns "
like the five fingers of the hand. The four-lobed
ones that grow in water resemble a four-leaf
clover, and there are the uncut blades that
can be smooth or wavy-edged with shapes
that are circular or long like a tongue, a heart,
or a dagger.
More primitive than flowering or seed
plants, the fern group's spores are more comparable
to grains of pollen in flowering plants.
The adder's tongue has an especially interesting
spore capsule that looks like the flicking
tongue of a snake.
The stately Osmunda grows to 5 feet in
favorable conditions and has three species:
interrupted fern, cinnamon fern, and royal
fern. Royal fern thrives in marshes and is a
main structure in a wetland garden. At first,
cinnamon fern's spore case is green, and then
turns cinnamon brown in its fertile stage so
emerge
as lustrous orange. As they
mature, they turn greener but remain bronzecolored
and retain a pretty sheen. Ferns
please other senses, too, such as the fragrant
shield fern with its raspberry aroma or the
native hayscented fern.
Fronds can have many branching patterns:
blades that are divided as many as three
times have a lacy effect. Some blades are
flat and asymmetrical, such as the elkhorn
type. Some are divided into five parts and
known as
that this fertile frond growing in the center of
the crown of sterile fronds sports what looks
like brown wool. In early spring, the fiddlehead
stage is especially charming.
Ostrich fern at 3 feet is one of the most
formal and lovely varieties all summer. It gets
its name from the plumose fertile frond resembling
an ostrich feather. These fronds mature
in July, a few weeks later than the cinnamon
fern and are dark-green. Of the medium ferns
(2-3 feet), the shield fern (Dryopteris) is evergreen
and combines well with woodland
plants. Maidenhair fern is airy and delicate
with arching fronds. It must have moisture and
likes dense shade. A favorite smaller type is
the leathery Christmas fern, a wonderful evergreen
native that enjoys moist semi-shade,
although it will tolerate some dryness and
deep shade.
Garden ferns that do well in containers
include autumn brilliance, deer,
fancy, fortune's cold hardy holly, Korean
rock, shiny bristle, soft shield, tassel, and
variegated holly. Kimberly queen fern is a
houseplant that is lovely used in summer for
outdoor urns and patio baskets. Unlike Boston
fern, it loves humidity and can take heat and
several hours of sun in pots. Its popularity has
made it widely available - a friend reported
buying hers at the neighborhood grocery. This
plant has a tidy habit and turns a handsome
wheat color in fall, so is attractive in the container
through Thanksgiving. When you move
it back inside for winter, remember it likes
humidity, so place it in a tray filled with pebbles
and water or let it enjoy steam from the
bathroom shower.
To line a shady path, ferns make great
companions to fat hostas, where the two
shapes contrast and complement each other.
Ferns are graceful in an individual clump
where their individual forms can be appreciated,
but also have great impact en masse.
On shady walks, there is nothing quite like
happening upon a glade where the entire forest
floor is blanketed with sumptuous ferns.
Plant a drift of these emerald beauties. The
effect is cooling, calming, and positively
primeval. n
GULIVERIS/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK
Cooperative Living/August 2015
Cooperative Living August 2015

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