“Ferns and Friends – Gardening in the shadows!”
Janis opened her talk by talking about the needs of ferns. They prefer a natural soil without soil amenders, shade and with 2/3 hours of sun per day. Some varieties are evergreen, others deciduous and all look attractive mixed with other plants.
Janis mentioned some ferns that members might consider for their gardens such as Tassel ferns, Soft shield fern, Korean rock fern Tongue fern, Royal fern, Autumn fern, Ostrich fern, Japanese painted fern, Maidenhead fern and Japanese Holly fern. Ferns are various shades of green and is important to place them with plants that have complimentary colouring. Janis continued to discuss some plants that pair well with ferns and that need similar growing conditions. For instance, Galium odoratum, (Sweet woodruff), Conrnus canadensis (Bunch berry), Dicentra formosa( dwarf creeping bleeding heart) and Saxifraga (London pride). Bulbs such as Scilla siberica (wood squill), Chionodoxa (Glory of the snow) and Cyclamen also pair well with ferns. Some other examples of bulb pairings are using plants such as Trilliums, Bletilla, Anemone banda and Anemone nemerosa mixed in with ferns. Many other plans pair well with ferns such as Rodgersia, Doronicum, Hostas, Brunnera, Hellebores, Astilbes, Digitalis (Foxgloves), Alchemilla, Aruncus (Dwarf goat’s beard), Hemerocallis (day lilies) such as Stella d’Ora, Astrantia, Tricytris (Toad lily) and Primulas.