I go on about ferns a lot, I know. I love them. Quite recently I heard about Monty Don of Gardener's World becoming a great fan of them too. Nowadays I see lots and lots of different ferns in garden centres and it's getting silly now because I'm constantly wondering if I might be able to cram just one more into my little garden.
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| Brauns Holly Fern Polystichum braunii |
I think I mentioned somewhere in an earlier post that ferns take me back to my childhood, of a time when I was small and would enter a local park. The entrance was shaded by trees and all along, bordering each side of the path were ferns. They gave it an atmosphere, a coolness, a calmness, that I appreciated even back then. And now the ferns I have which border the narrow patio at the back of my garden do the same for me.
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| Ferns in a row, edging a path |
I hate to choose between the survivors but, honestly, Brauns Holly Fern Polystichum braunii (see top image) is probably my favourite simply because of its elegance and, not least of all, because mine tends to stick around during winter so no bald spots there when, all around the garden, herbacious perennials are disappearing underground. The other ferns have admirable traits too, like
Dryopteris filix-mas Euxinensis which is bold and makes a statement with its upright fronds splitting at the ends, as they do. The
Buckler Fern (Dryopteris atrata) is upright too and it's the uncurling fronds that always grab my attention.
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