254 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



and channelled and adorned in many different ways, or with 

 the edges prettily cut. All the commonest kinds of Ferns 

 have varied more or less in similar ways according to their 

 nature, so that taking our British Ferns by themselves, we 

 can make beautiful collections either in our gardens or 

 indoors, provided we give a. little thought to their needs and 

 a little care to their culture. One great advantage possessed 

 by our home Ferns is that they are (all but two rare ones, 

 the Maidenhair Fern and Sea Spleenwort) perfectly hardy, 

 so that we need no hot water piping in the winter as we do 

 for tender Ferns from warm climates. 



There is, however, one thing which they cannot stand, 

 and that is drought or want of water at the roots. If we 

 keep our eyes open when among the Ferns in the country, 

 leaving the common Bracken out of the question, we shall 

 always find them in best condition in shady moss lands, under 

 the shelter of the hedges, or in shady but not too shady 

 woods, while if we look a little deeper into the matter we 

 shall note that in very dark nooks the Ferns are drawn up 

 and weakly. In windy sunny places also we shall find their 

 delicate fronds browned by the sun, and ragged and worn 

 by the rubbing together caused by the wind, and from all 

 these facts we shall gather, if we think a bit, that Ferns like 

 (i) Plenty of daylight but little sunshine ; (2) Constant moisture 

 at the roots ; and (3) Shelter from rough winds. 



Finally, if we examine the places where they grow we 

 shall usually find plenty of decayed leaves making an open 

 soil, and that on stiff clay few if any Ferns exist. We shall 

 also note that chinks in rocks and the crevices in old walls 

 and stone dykes are often full of little Ferns, and in time 

 we shall see that some species only grow in such positions 

 and nowhere else, all of which facts teach us something of 

 which the more we remember and apply to the plants we pos- 

 sess the greater will be our success in growing them. A good 

 general compost is a mixture of good loam and leaf-mould, 

 or peat-mould, in equal parts, with say a fifth of coarse silver 

 sand. 



Ferns in the Garden. Culture To grow Ferns satisfac- 

 torily in a garden we must recollect what nature has taught us, 

 and choose a spot sheltered from sun and wind as much as 

 possible, but otherwise with plenty of daylight ; and we must 

 also indulge them with a soil containing plenty of leaf-mould. 

 Rocky slopes will have taught us also that something in the 

 rockery line will help, but in making a rockery it should never 

 be forgotten that the Ferns are the main ornament of it, and 

 hence that the rocks, whether real or artificial, should not 



