Friday, January 26, 2018

Ferny — an update

I found myself staring at this fern corner at Portland Nursery recently and wondered if I'd ever shared an update? Since I first wrote about it in March of last year it has filled in quite nicely.

This particular building is a cavernous space, I don't think it's heated in the winter time.

Cyrtomium fortunei, aka Japanese holly fern

Polystichum tsus-simense, aka Korean rock fern

Dryopteris filix-mas 'Linearis Polydactyla' aka Slender Crested Male Fern

And let's pause to appreciate the Selaginella kraussiana, hinding behind a frond.

While I admired what they've built here my mind wandered...

...to the branches on my patio. Some of them Alison's, some of them mine. I see an installation "inspired by" in my future.

Perhaps an update on my fern table is in order? It's looking a little "winter worn"...

Late last fall Andrew and I cut a branch from one of the neighbor's conifers. It was hanging annoyingly low over our property and dropping needles continually.

Of course cutting it resulted in a shower of needles which I haven't got around to cleaning up yet.

Sadly, I know there will be plenty more...

The orange leaves under the fern table belong to Trachelospermum asiaticum 'Ogon Nishiki' — they're planted in the tops from the dish-planters that live behind the shade pavilion. Once the pavilion is converted to a greenhouse they get moved out of the way. In the spirit of "keeping it real" I'm sharing the lovely sheet plastic, pvc, and binder clip structure I built over the fern stock-tank. Why did create something so horrific you ask?

Because I went out to check on another plant in the garden, after a particularly rainy afternoon, and discovered the tank was a swamp. Ferns like it moist, but they're not bog plants (shown here Coniogramme emeiensis 'Golden Zebra').

Turns out I hadn't added any drainage holes to this tank when it was full of Equisetum hyemale (horsetail - I didn't want it to esacpe) and then didn't think to do it when I planted it up with ferns. Duh! (shown is Coniogramme intermedia 'Yoroi Musha').

Selaginella braunii

Blechnum chilense

Oh well, it's behind the garage and since I'm not spending time hanging out on the patio these days I don't see it unless I come check on it.

Let's end with a pretty picture shall we? Here's the same area last June...

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

16 comments:

  1. While it was interesting to see the fern corner from Portland Nursery, I really appreciated the winter update on your fern table and the corner of your own fabulous garden where it lives -- looking perhaps not so fabulous in winter. It's just nice to know there's at least a tiny part of your gorgeous garden that looks almost as ugly as mine does at this time of year. It's hard to get out there to clean up when it's cold and rainy and blustery and there are projects to try to finish as well.

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    1. Wait!? You're calling my garden ugly? ;) You should see the narrow strip of land behind the shade pavilion "greenhouse" against the fence. Andrew cleaned the roof of the shade pavilion when we cleaned the garage gutters. You should see all the debris back there. Ugh. Spring cleanup is gonna be a bear...

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  2. The log and fern gardens are sweetly enticing... this post has set my mental wheels in motion. ;)

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  3. Nice ferny update. I love it when you share the "keeping it real" parts of your garden!

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    1. Cause it ain't all sunshine and flowers...

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  4. I do love that 'Golden Zebra' - it's a good thing you discovered the swamp before anything drowned. I've encountered that problem myself, not because holes were lacking in pots, but because the pots weren't elevated off the ground and therefore couldn't drain properly. However, drowning isn't a significant risk at present :(

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    1. I remember seeing so many flooded pots when we were in LA last January. If you're not used to rain it would be easy to "let" that happen. I however should know better!

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  5. Linearis polydactyla is one of my favorite ferns. Is that a Podophyllum in the tank behind the fern table?

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    1. Yes it is, a big beautiful Podophyllum I inherited from a friend when she moved.

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  6. You have a fine fern collection. If I had a greenhouse to keep them in during winter I would be tempted to have such a collection.

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    1. I couple of them are borderline hardy here, I'm glad it's been a fairly mild winter thus far.

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  7. I'll have to check out the fern berm at PDX Nursery next I visit. However, I enjoyed looking at your ferny corner more. The idea is very enticing and I can't help but wonder what I could do in my own space. However, I've pulled up about 12 ferns in order to make space for natives. I might need to make a ferny spot out of necessity.

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  8. Even I have a ferny spot (by accident) so, yes they are good. A whole different kind of plant.

    I hope your winter is not too harsh this year.

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  9. Coniogramme emeiensis 'Golden Zebra' is an eye candy. WOW.
    To my eyes, your fern table is looking great. No winter damage, it just needs a little spring cleaning/tinkering. I always enjoy doing it because it means spring is around the corner. Can't wait to see how you and Alison put those gnarly branches to good use.

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