CHAPTER HI 



Ferns in the Mixed Border 



It is always well to emphasise marked 

 situations by tall-growing species. Osmunda 

 Claytoniana, which is well shown on the 

 right of Plate i, plays an important part in 

 the decoration of country roads and byways, 

 but rarely shows to better advantage than in 

 the fern border. The botanists quote the 

 height at three feet, which, however, is often 

 doubled in damp woodlands; four feet is the 

 limit of the plant photographed. There is 

 no period in the existence of this fern when 

 it is not attractive, but it is especially so as it 

 is unfolding in the spring. The stipe pushes 

 up through the dead leaves, the fern wool 

 drops away, and a symphony in green is 

 literally unrolled before our eyes — the fertile 

 section of an exquisite olive shade, pale green 



35 



