On My List: Ferns, finally!

All this talk about my plant wish list and so far not a word about the one thing I want most of all: ferns! When my friend Jen and I were doing garden tours a couple summers ago, we visited one with an elaborate fern garden. As we were standing there in the dappled shade, surrounded by ferns of all kinds, I said “I am happy where a fern is happy,” and that is one thing I know to be utterly true. It’s a big part of why my goal for this garden is a woodland garden, aka tiny forest — but that’s a long-term goal, given that I started with no plant life or shade of any kind. I’m champing at the bit to plant all the sun-loving weeds and wildflowers I’ve been talking about and now have on order — which will fill the gaps among the young evergreens and trees I’ve planted so far — but more or less as would happen in a natural meadow, they’ll get gradually shaded out as trees and larger shrubs take over. And gradually replaced with ferns and other woodland plants.

So it’s one thing to be thinking ahead about what ferns might find a home here over time, but there’s also the more pressing question of whether I’ve created enough part-shade so far that I might be able to start any this season. Of course, the challenge with ferns is that they not only need some (or a lot of) shade, many of them also want quite a lot of moisture, which I can’t promise them. They also tend to colonize, many quite aggressively, which could be problematic in my small garden. Thankfully, I’ve come up with four real beauties to make space for—

1) Northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)
Soft and lovely maidenhair fern is one of my favorite plants, period, but I’ve only previously lived/gardened in places where it’s a houseplant. It is native to most of the eastern half of the US and Canada, and its diminutive size (1'-2' tops) makes it a good candidate for a smaller space like mine. It’s also not super aggressive in its spread, and while it might die back in dry situations, it will allegedly regrow as conditions become more favorable. So I’m excited to give it a try.

2) Common ladyfern (Athyrium filix-femina)
“Common” in that it has a huge native range (most of the US, barring the middle) but it’s also the shape and form you think of when you hear the word fern. Thankfully, it’s a bit smaller (at ~3') than many of the other ferns that have that very typical, graceful, open-armed shape, and will reportedly tolerate dryness if planted in shade, as well as being a slower spreader. So the common lady may be my go-to girl.

3) Marginal woodfern (Dryopteris marginalis)
With that same look and form as the common ladyfern, but at a smaller size (12-18"), this one is also clumping rather than spreading, tolerant of dry shade and — wait for it — evergreen?! Ok, will def give that a role and see how it performs!

4) Goldie’s woodfern (Dryopteris goldieana)
Conversely, if I ever find myself with a spot for a stunning specimen with a 6' wingspan, I’ll be sure to reach for Goldie’s woodfern, aka giant woodfern. A girl can dream ...

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Vintage botanical illustrations (now public domain) via the Biodiversity Heritage Library.