CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE HARDY FERN GARDEN. 



THE marriage of the fern and flower garden is worth effecting, our 

 many hardy evergreen Ferns being so good for association with hardy 

 flowers. There are many varieties of our native Ferns which would 

 be excellent companions to evergreen herbaceous plants suited for 

 sheltered, half-shady nooks, and there are hardy and vigorous exotic 

 kinds. Graceful effects may be had in fore-grounds, in drives through 

 glades, through the bold use of the larger hardy Ferns, whether ever- 

 green or not. The Bracken is everywhere ; but there are Ferns of 

 graceful form which delight in the partial shade of open woods and 

 drives, and succeed even in the sun. Ferns have, as a rule, been 

 stowed away in obscure corners, and have rarely come into the 

 garden landscape, though they may give us beautiful aspects of 

 vegetation not only in the garden, but by grassy glades, paths, and 

 drives. In countries where hardy Ferns abound, they are often seen 

 near water and in hollow and wet places, and it will often be best 

 to group them in such localities, but without any of the ugly aspects 

 of " rockwork " too often supposed to be the right thing in a hardy 

 fernery. 



In the home counties there is probably not a better fernery 

 than that at Danesbury. It is on a sloping bank in a rather 

 deep dell, overhung with trees and Ivy, in the shade of which the 

 Ferns delight. As regards the planting, the various families are 

 arranged in distinct groups, and each group has a position and 

 a soil favourable to its requirements. The best way to grow Ferns, 

 however, is with flowers, as in Nature, and a hardy fernery may 

 be very beautiful. As a rule, Ferns have in their natural state 

 both soil and locality exactly suited to their requirements ; and the 

 soil is yearly enriched by the decaying foliage of surrounding trees, 

 which protects them in winter. In arranging a fernery, study the 

 habits and requirements of each species, and allot to it the position 

 most likely to give the best results. At Danesbury the most 



