FOGGY WEEK IN WEST YORKSHIRE AND EVERGREEN FERNS

Did we have sunshine a few days ago?  I vaguely remember it now; it all seems lost in the mist.  Actually, it was just three days ago but since then we have had nothing but rain, drizzle, and fog.  Not gardening weather.  Not for me.  But looking out of my living room window just as I was about to pull down the blinds, I noticed how beautiful it looked out there as day turned to dusk.  My neighbour arrived home in a taxi, after having been shopping, and thought I was standing outside with a cup of coffee in my hands.  I'm not quite that weird.  It was my CanonEOS 6D camera.  She wondered how it could take photographs in near dark, but apparently it can.  Even without flashlight.  I thought I would share the image.  You can see the taxi rear lights on the bottom left.



Foggy dusk, almost 9pm on 11 April 2018

Of course, none of these comments about fog and rain has to do with gardening, except that it means I get no gardening done.  What I did get done today was to order a delivery of several bags of Miracle Gro compost (I just buy the ordinary one, not the one which retains water) which was delivered by my local gardening centre within the hour, for a small fee.  Gone are the days when I feel up to staggering around lugging big bags of (peat free) compost from car to garden.  It's too exhausting.  I'll save my energy (what there is of it) for tomorrow when we have the promise of sunshine.  Bring it on!  Please!





I have lots to do.  The lawn needs edging and mowing, and feeding, and weeding, if not tomorrow, sometime soon.  I also have to make the decision about what to do about the two lovely ferns which are outgrowing the pots they are in: Athyrium felix-femina Frizelliae (Tatting Fern) and Athyrium filix femina Victoriae (Victoria Lady Fern).  They are both far too beautiful to risk losing.  I don't really have anywhere in my garden that is shady all day long.  Everywhere gets direct sun at some point, so I think I will just transfer them to bigger pots and tuck them into a spot which is shady enough for most of the day. 





Speaking of ferns, there is one that is truly delightful.  It not only retained its fronds all winter long but is the only one to have done so except for the little newcomer, Polypodium vulgare, which you can just see peeping out on the left, near the concrete gravel-board of the fence.  The fronds look fresh and green with a hint of bronze and I would love to know where the label has gone. I am quite sure it is the Braun's Holly Fern (Polystichum braunii), known to be evergreen.  Look how beautiful it is, even with its old fronds and it has fared so well despite subzero temperatures and heavy snowfalls.  Soon it will have the company of nearby ferns which have formed nice fat fronds still tightly furled.







Braun's Holly Fern (Polystichum braunii)   - 13 April 2018

Polypodium vulgare - 13 April 2018

Regarding Polypodium vulgare, the labels says it prefers partial shade, achieves a height of 40cm (16in), and is evergreen.  The label tells you sweet nothing about where to plant it, but I have mine at the bottom of a slope, in heavy soil, right next to a fence gravel-board.  It has shelter from the fence in winter and in late spring and summer it will have some shade from neighbouring ferns as well as the Syringa (lilac) 'Red Pixie'.  As you can see, despite subzero temperatures and heavy snowfall, it has survived winter quite well and will no doubt push up some fresh fronds in due course.