I love ferns in the shady areas of my garden. Their foliage acts as a natural green backdrop or is a focal point. This summer wasn’t kind to my ferns with the lack of rain and extreme heat. Plus some that were getting ample amounts of shade in years past were getting too much sun this year. Some of the ferns I managed to move to other areas this summer to keep them from burning up completely. Others are recovering due to the cooler temperatures this month. Here are the ferns I have in my garden right now:
Autumn Fern
A new addition to my garden this year is Dryopteris erythrosora or Autumn Fern. The new leaves are a copper-pink shade that turn green in the summer and change to a orange-brown in the fall. This fern is evergreen and prefers constant moisture but has withstood some drought in my garden. In addition it needs a light shade to a full shade area. I hand water my ferns about twice a week and add tons of compost to this bed which helps retain some moisture after a good rainfall. This plant has already doubled in size.
Japanese Painted Fern
This Japanese Painted Fern has been in my garden for about five years. It was hit hard by the drought & heat this summer. I thought I had lost it so I purchased two new ones recently. This morning I found it had reemerged and looked pretty good. I love the burgundy stems and the silver tips of this foliage. This fern prefers constant moisture, light shade to full shade and is deciduous.
Christmas Fern
The Christmas Fern has upright & leathery like leaves. It also prefers constant moisture and light shade to full shade in the garden. It is evergreen fern that is native to eastern North America. These little guys were divided this fall and moved to the new open area under my ‘Limelight’ Hydrangea. They are very easy to divide, you dig them up & pull apart the rhizome to make new divisions. Ferns add another layer to the shade garden with their fabulous foliage. What kinds of ferns are in your garden?
