Rediscover Ferns: Texture and Motion for Shade Gardens

Few plants are as at home in shaded gardens as ferns. Thriving in cool, moist locations from the Pacific Northwest to Northern California—even in the West's coldest climates with winter protection—they bring beauty and motion to woodland landscapes.

What makes this group of stemless, flowerless plants so popular are the exquisite colors and patterns of their leaves, which bob gracefully in the gentlest breeze. Some are evergreen, some deciduous, but every spring each sends out fresh fiddleheads (named for their likeness to violin scrolls), unfurling from a tight coil of delicate foliage. Many continue to wow with summer or fall color ranging from silvery to burgundy and copper.

Growing Ferns

In most ferns, fiddleheads expand into delicately divided fronds lasting six months to a year. When they die back and become tattered, cut them to the base. Most take partial to full shade; just give rich, loose, acid soil and regular water.

Use as accents among lower-growing plants like sweet woodruff, or tuck among boulders beside ponds. Mossy rocks, especially when wet, make beautiful foils. For other design ideas, see our four combinations.

The fern family is as diverse as the plants are beautiful; we show six stunners for home gardens. All adapt best when planted in fall.

Sources

Most nurseries carry a good selection. Also at home improvement stores, but caveat emptor: mass merchandisers often include varieties that won't grow in your area. Two good mail-order sources: Big Dipper Farm (360/886-8133) and...