So, what have ferns ever done for us? ". . . well, ferns don't really do anything, do they? I mean, they don't flower!" With a sharp intake of breath, I paused, my pen held aloft midsentence, whilst noting down my client's plant wish list. Twenty minutes discussion on form and texture later, they enthusiastically select fifty ferns for their woodland garden.
Asplenium scolopendrium 'Crispum Cristatum'
Back at the nursery, I quietly wandered through the fern house, forced to confront this notion again. What is it about ferns I find so absorbing, that other people miss? Firstly I am drawn by their Iushness, dense carpets of bright apple green through teal, jungle, olive, to dark forest green, with every verdant hue in between. Subtle artistic highlights of royaI purple, chestnut dances on emerging fronds, burgundy suffused stems or carmine-edged leaves. Complex lacy fronds (Dryopteris austriaca 'Crispa Whiteside’), overlapping fans (Polystichum setiferum Congestum), ruffled, crested (Dryopteris affinis 'The King’), matt or glossy, fragile or thick and leathery (Polystichum polyblepharum) the variations of shape, texture and style is fascinating. No wonder the Victorians were smitten.
Dryopteris erythrosora
Secondly, in this oasis of calm, I am assailed by wafts of sweet, earthy aromas, evoking memories of childhood summers exploring pine woods. My first encounters with our native glossy-leaved Hart's tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium), the dramatic male shield fern (Dryopteris filix mas) and the delightful little Polypody (Polypodium vulgare). Thus began my lasting love affair with this ancient plant. Not known for making a significant contribution to global economies, some ferns are gathered as food crops, others clean contaminated soil, remove airborne chemical pollutants or feature in the world of medicine, art and mythology. Closer to home, they provide wildlife habitats in your own garden.
Dryopteris affinis 'Crispa Congesta'
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Their main role, however, is ornamental. Plant them to punctuate a large border, instil leafy serenity on busy floral displays or introduce a touch of 'Jurassic Park'.
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