Gardening for Amateurs 



825 



Hardy ferns bordering a shady garden walk. 



Hardy Ferns 



FEW gardens, however small, can 

 afford to dispense with hardy ferns. 

 While they may be used to furnish 

 and beautify bare and shady corners, 

 the many attractive " sports " or varia- 

 tions should be given good positions on 

 a rockery or in beds and borders. The 

 two conditions least favourable to hardy 

 ferns are a dry, hot border exposed to the 

 sun and cold wind-swept positions. In small 

 gardens it is not difficult, as a rule, to avoid 

 these. Many flowering plants will not thrive 

 successfully on shady borders and under the 

 edge of large trees ; but such positions pro- 

 vide practically ideal conditions for hardy 

 ferns. Comparatively few amateurs make 

 a hobby of these plants, yet they have a 

 fascination of their own. The choicest kinds 

 are worth growing in an unheated, shady 

 greenhouse, and both the evergreen and 

 deciduous sorts may be chosen. 



Hints on Cultivation. Hardy ferns 

 are usually grown among stones or burrs, 

 chiefly for appearance sake. Yet though the 

 stones are not essential, they are of value, 

 because they keep the soil moist ; in the 

 matter of soil they are not fastidious, ordinary 

 land in which leaf-mould, old mortar rubble, 

 and wood ashes are mixed gives good results. 

 Though most kinds are lovers of moisture, 

 the ground must be well drained, for ferns 

 fail to give satisfaction in stagnant and 

 heavy clay soils. When building a rockery 

 for ferns it is a good plan to bury a con- 

 siderable quantity of brick rubble and stones 

 in the soil. For placing on the surface, 

 sandstone is one of the best materials to 

 use, but the purchase of this is beyond the 

 reach of many amateurs, who must be con- 

 tent with brick burrs. When choice permits, 

 select a north or eastern aspect for the slope 

 of the hardy fernery. 



