After all the color on display this week, how about capping it off with some contemplative greeny goodness? There's something inherently peaceful about ferns and moss that both of us connect with on a deep level ... they're not the stars of the Woodland Garden in the traditional "eye popping" sense, but they play a very important role in the overall composition of this part of the garden. In fact, we tend to think of them as foundational features of the woodland personality here ... in spring and summer they provide an attractive backdrop to the more colorful plants around them while they're blooming, and when most things are
winding down, they still provide a lot of lush green interest in the fall, until well into early winter, sometimes staying green until they're completely covered by the snow. Fernymoss took these two shots on 6 May, 2008 ... the first are the unfurling fronds of one of our Leatherwood Ferns, one of the toughest ferns out there as far as we are concerned. These are the ones you sometimes see used in floral bouquets as "filler." (A shameful waste, I think!) The second shot is a close up of the moss growing on one of the stepping stones Fernymoss made a couple of years ago (I posted an earlier version of this a while back). We'll have to get busy and get some more shots of the other developing ferns soon ... the maidenhairs, ostrich plume and tassel ferns. There's still so much to get cleaned up and now with new plant purchases waiting to get in the ground, we feel terribly behind, just like we do each year, lol.
For maximum effect, please click for the larger image, where you can see a whole lot more detail than you can in these reduced versions. (Firefox users, right click and choose "view image" or "open in new tab" option. Believe me, it will be worth your while!)
2 comments:
Those are great photos, especially the top one. I love ferns though madame boran seems determined to cut ours down to the ground.
Hey B2! That's too bad that Mme. Boran isn't a fan ... shame on her! (No offense, as I am sure she's a lovely person since she married you!) I suspect you have the Ostrich Plume species? A lot of people around here don't seem to like them as well and frequently cut them down because they are a bit aggressive. When ours start venturing where they're not wanted, we just dig them up and put them somewhere else where they can provide a lush backdrop to other plants. I've loved them since I was a kid and really enjoy the 'ferny fragrance' they put out when they're in full ferny bore mode. When/if we ever get too many, we'll just pass them along to other fern fanciers who need a little something in their shady areas. And talk about easy! Wow these things epitomize ease of growing among ferns.
Stay tuned, as I'll be posting more shots of the various ferns soon ... the Leatherwoods in this post have really opened up a lot in the last week and look nothing like they do here! All in a mere what ... ten days?!
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