ROCK GARDENS
Hardy Ferns for
Rock Gardens 3
A native kind, S. v. crispum,
is a pretty variety, with broad, undulating
fronds with a crinkled and fringed edge.
Some of these ferns, such as S. v. Kelwayii,
form little bulbils on the margins of the
fronds, which may be carefully removed and
treated as seedlings, when they will soon
make strong young plants. They like a sheltered
site in moist, sandy loam and leaf-mould
to which has been added a little mortar-rubble.
The Hard Fern Blechnunt Spicant is another
good British hardy fern, being evergreen
with pinnate or divided fronds. It enjoys
shade, and grows naturally in deep hollows
and dells where the soil consists chiefly
of leaf-mould and dead leaves, with a good
loam beneath. The polypody, Polypodium, is
well known in its wild state, many of its
numerous varieties growing freely on old
tree stumps and roots. Of its varieties,
P. vulgare cambricum is one of the prettiest
and at the same time one of the oldest. These
ferns do well in rock gardens, liking fibrous
loam, peat, leaf-mould, and a little sand
as a mixture in which to grow. They may be
propagated by division, and this is the best
way if it is required to keep the strain
true to its characteristics. It is evergreen
and, unlike many ferns, bears sunlight well.
It does not prefer it, however, and flourishes
best in partial shade. The Oak Fern is related
to the foregoing, being really a Dryopteris.
It is a very pretty fern, of a beautiful
pale green colour, and is deciduous. It likes
a very sheltered position, where its pretty
three-partate fronds flourish well. The Beech
Fern, another Polypodium, viz., P. Phegopteris,
is like the Oak Fern, but differs slightly
from it in the arrangement of its fronds.
It likes plenty of moisture when dormant,
otherwise its treatment is the same as Oak
Fern. The Shield Fern, Polystichum, has several
varieties, of which the Soft-shield fern,
P. angulare, is the best for general use.
These ferns are ever green and many of the
varieties in cultivation are crested and
plumose. They like a sheltered position,
but do fairly well anywhere, their chief
demand being for a rich loamy, well-manured
soil. P. aculeatum is much like P. angulare,
except that it has a more shining surface.
Its habits are quite similar. Another polystichum
P. Lonchitis is known as the Holly Fern,
and grows in high places. It is, as its name
implies, a prickly fern, and is of a rather
delicate nature, calling for care in the
matter of watering. If it is allowed to get
too moist when dormant, or if it is planted
in too warm a spot, the plant is likely to
die. The Nephrodium (syn. Dryopteris) Filix-mas,
the Male Fern, and N. var. pseudo-mas are
both good species. The first is, perhaps,
the best known of all British ferns, and
does well in town conditions, growing in
great clumps in suburban gardens.
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