Green Thumb Corner

The 'Japanese Painted Fern', Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum', is a low maintance, deciduous fern with soft grayish-green and silvery dark maroon foliage. Being the Perennial of the Year for 2004, one can see why. 'Japanese Painted Fern' has a plant spread of 24" and a height of 24" and a must to any garden. 'Japanese Painted Fern' requires full shade, however, small amounts of afternoon sun give the most vibrant color to its foliage. A well-drained area is best, not allowing it to dry out. Perfect as a border plant, planted near streams or ponds or as an accent plant. It will contrast well with Hosta 'Patriot' or Heuchera 'Palace Purple'. Best of all, the Japanese Painted Fern can help with erosion control, while presenting minimal wind resistance.

Fern - Deer, Blechnum Spicant, is a hardy evergreen fern. The fronds are glossy, dark green and form a rosette. It requires a shaded growing area and a well-drained, acid soil high in organic matter. The plant is native to North America. Deer Fern is a beautiful and charming fern with fronds that have two strikingly different forms. The outer skirt of the frond is tapered at both ends. The central "fertile" fronds are stiffly erect. It creates an interesting effect and grows best with partial shade and regular moisture.

Fern - Spreading Wood Fern, Dryopteris Expansa, has a stout, woody, creeping or ascending stock with large, green lacy fronds. The leaflets of the fronds have fringed tips and sides. It grows one to two feet long, in open, graceful clumps, and has a ruffled look. Wood Fern is a species of fern native to cool, temperate, and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It prefers cool, moist mixed or evergreen forests and rock crevices on alpine slopes, often growing on rotting logs and tree stumps and rocky slopes. It is especially associated with stream banks. The species name of this fern, expansa, is from the Latin expando, meaning "to spread out, spread apart, to expand" Other common names include Northern Wood Fern, Arching Wood Fern, Spiny Wood Fern and Crested Wood Fern.

The Wildwood Twist Fern, 'Athyrium 'Wildwood Twist', is a hybrid of the Japanese Painted Fern. It is a deciduous fern which typically grows to 18" tall and features slowly spreading clumps of triangular, smoky gray and green fronds. The fronds twist along the length of the frond. Use this plant in the landscape to add color to shade gardens and in combinations with other perennials. The Wildwood Twist Fern is easily grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soil in part shade to full shade. The best site is in sheltered locations. The best frond color is achieved in light shade. The soil must not be allowed to dry out. Use this plant to add color to shade gardens and combinations with other perennials. It blends well with lungwort, foamflower and hostas.

The Ghost Fern, 'Athyrium niponicum var. pictum and Athyrium filix-feminais', is a deciduous hybrid fern. The characteristic that is most noteable is it's upright silvery foliage. The silvery foliage is acquired from its Japanese painted fern parent

The Red Beauty Fern, Athyrium 'Red Beauty', is a very vigorous and attractive relative to the Japanese Painted Fern. The Red Beauty Fern is a quick-growing plant for any partly to fully shaded garden location. The stems and veins remain bright red from spring to frost, while its long, elegant, lacy fronds cast silvery-green shadows in the shade. The upright fronds do not turn green in hot summer weather. You can use this plant as a groundcover because of its broad habit and fast growth. The Red Beauty can be used in containers, borders, and the fronds may be used for indoor arrangements. The deeply-dissected, fern-like, medium green leaves have a strong, somewhat spicy aroma that may persist when used in dried arrangements. Rabbits prefer not to eat on the Red Beauty Fern. Place this plant in moist, well-drained, enriched soil.

The Lady fern or Red Stem fern has a feathery textured frond with a red stem. It is a slow spreading fern, which will make a nice mass in a few years. The Southern Lady fern thrives in the garden, given any reasonably good soil and will make a dense stand over time. The Southern Lady Fern is also known as the Tatting Fern. Lady Ferns have leaves that turn bronze in the fall and then dark brown over the winter. It prefers to have it's feet wet. This plant is used for container plantings, borders, foundation planting, massing and groundcover. The Southern Lady fern is perennial and is deciduous. This very versatile plant goes well with evergreen shrubs and Hostas.

The Brilliance Fern, 'Dryopteris 'Brilliance', is a new colorful and more brilliant form of the Autumn Fern. The young fronds of this cultivars are showy and orange. The fronds hold their glossy green sheen at maturity. The growth habit is identical to the Autumn but as a whole it is dramatically more showy. This fern is a great addition to the fern garden. The Brilliance Fern is an evergreen fern and is slow-spreading. It's easy to grow and is surprisingly drought tolerant once established in a garden.

Fern - Japanese Holly, Cyrtomium Fortunei, has a beautiful and distinctive shape with a few fronds forming a vaselike crown. The fronds are four to seven inches wide and a beautiful glossy dark green with four to ten pairs of leaves per pinnae. The individual pinnae are leathery, serrated with sharp points, and have a remarkable resemblance to holly leaves - thus the common name. (Older plants may have a four foot spread.) It prefers partial sun to full shade and needs soil that is moist, humus rich, with good drainage. This fern can take more sun than most ferns so you can use it in pots or in beds as a border where you normally couldn't put a fern. However, it must be kept out of strong afternoon sun in warmer climates.

Fern - Autumn, Dryopteris Erythrosora, is a plant that will provide a new color with every season! It is one of the showiest ferns as the fronds emerge in the spring with beautiful bright copper-bronze color tones. It then turns to dark green for summer, and back to bronze again in the fall. Autumn Fern has an evergreen habit that looks great in the partly-shaded bed or border. Once established it's virtually self-maintaining, and truly eye-catching in any setting. This Autumn Fern reaches 2 feet in height and width. It is one of the few perennials that will grow happily beneath large shade trees or in dry soils. It presents a great effect when planted near a rock or a small pond. Use in pots indoors or for a patio or deck plant. Here's a plant that will be with you season after season!

Fern - Male, Dryopteris Filix Mas, is a clump forming fern found throughout North America and the Pacific Northwest. It has an upright habit and reaches 2.5 feet in height and width with a single crown on each rootstock. The crown of this fern produces multiple plants, so divide the male fern regularly to increase your plants and to keep the symmetry, or allow it to become a large clump of many plants. Either way, the fern provides a grand statement in the woodland garden. It prefers shade to bright shade and moist, fertile, acidic soil. Male Fern is one of the most common ferns of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. It favors damp shaded areas and is common in the understory of woodlands, but is also found in shady places on hedge-banks and rocks.

The Hardy Fern Mix, is a mix of hardy fern varieties for those shady borders, corner locations or woodland gardens. With its lacy greenery, Ferns remain attractive from spring to fall. Planted humus-rich, loose, well-drained soil that is kept moist at all times. Give them a cool, shady site and these ferns will add a delicate touch to the shade garden.Whether used in borders or as a background, ferns enhance any garden with their gracefulness and their beautiful varying shades of green. Easy to grow almost anyplace...thrive even when other plants fail.