Ferns are great architecture. Depending upon the species selected, they can add a sense of structure by weaving and tying together trees, shrubs and other perennials into a connected garden.
Ferns may be tall and upright, vase-shaped, short spreading carpets or miniature clumps on a moss covered rock. Some ferns are coarse in texture with large leaves, while others have finely cut leaves giving a delicate lacy appearance. Still others are covered in tiny hairs giving them a soft downy look and feel.
Green is a Color
Green is a color and ferns best illustrate all the many hues of green possible in a perennial. There is soft golden-green, delicate gray-green, silver-green and black-olive green to mention but a few.Many species change color during the seasons. One fern may begin as a rich deep green completing the season in a golden-tan. Another may have new growth in a pale green changing over to bronze-red when winter approaches.
If you can find a nursery with a large selection of ferns, stand and look at the rows of different species. You will quickly see all ferns are not "simply something green" for the garden.
Some ferns, such as the Cinnamon or Sensitive, have separate stems carrying the fertile spores and are quite decorative. Colors can range from the tan or brown of the Cinnamon to the shiny olive-black of the Sensitive fern.
Spore cases can also be found on the reverse side of fern leaves (blades) adding more color in late summer and fall. Colors generally run from tan to brown and into mahogany and bronze-red.
Finally, the stems (stipe) are often colorful. One fern may begin the season in wine-red maturing to mahogany. Others, such as the Maidenhair fern, have wiry black stems. There is a Lady Fern that has red stems. Foliage texture, size and color, along with stems and spore casings all combine to form plants that truly are more than green filler for the garden.
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Culture
Ferns, in general, are no more difficult to grow than a flowering perennial. Notice that I qualified the last statement with "in general". There are some ferns that are quite site specific and either struggle or eventually die out when their specific needs are not met when planting.
You may be OK the first part of the year in this area for we usually have abundant spring rains. The later part of July, August and early September is hot and dry for long periods. This is the time one generally looses a fern that has not been planted in the right place.
There are a few general rules that apply to planting most ferns. Soil should be relatively loose in structure with plenty of rich humus. If you have access to leaf mold, dig in and thoroughly mix into the existing soil. Compost, decaying hardwood mulch, or chopped leaves are also good humus builders.
Always mulch after planting and keep the ferns mulched. Chopped leaves, hardwood, compost, or a combination of these materials are essential for retaining moisture and helping to keep the root zone cool. Both are basics to success with ferns.
Do not allow your newly planted ferns to severely dry out the first year in the garden. They need time to get the new roots spread out into the surrounding soil to support themselves during dry periods.
Last on the list of do's would be a bit of homework. Just how much shade does the fern you want to plant require? Some will sulk in those darkest corners; others quickly fry to a crisp in the open woods.
If the fern of your choice naturally grows in a bog, I would not plant it on a hillside at the base of a cedar tree. It is far easier, and much less expensive, to read or ask questions at the nursery before planting than after it dies. We all have a tendency to plant where we want it to grow rather than where the fern actually belongs.
The Natives
Picking up a wildflower guide for the State of Kentucky I counted almost 40 species of ferns. That is quite a selection to choose from, even when eliminating the one requiring exact habitats. Surrounding States share many of our same species with additional species to include on the shade garden shopping list.
I am firm believer in beginning with the natives. It simply makes good sense, and easier gardening, to begin with plant material already adapted to the climate in which I garden. Keeping an eye on hardiness zones I can then select related species from around the temperate world.
To learn more about hardy ferns for your garden I would highly recommend the book Ferns for American Gardens by John Mickel from Macmillan Publishing Company.