Introduction. 
xix 
of a garden, but the majority of small rockeries which have come under our notice have 
been neither pretty to look at nor suitable for plant life. 
The best spot for the construction of an open-air fernery is one with a broken and uneven 
surface, where there exists a certain amount of shade, protection from wind, and partial 
exposure to the sun, and if there is a stream of water running through it, so much the 
better ; but there are few amateurs who have such a spot whereon to construct it. These 
conditions, therefore, cannot be laid down as necessary, but the best must be made of 
what exists. 
The most sheltered spot available should be selected, with partial shade, if possible, but 
not underneath large trees, as the drip from them is ruinous to the health of most ferns. 
An elevated site is preferable, because it ensures good drainage, and an uneven surface affords 
the greatest diversity, and admits of a more artistic arrangement than a flat surface. If 
such a spot does not exist naturally in the garden, a mound should be thrown up. The 
base of this should be formed with old bricks, rough stones, or any material that will 
readily carry away superfluous moisture ; over this the soil may be placed, the surface 
may be diversified, and the soil held in position by masses of stone or rock, if convenient, 
or by the use of rough burrs, logs, and butts of trees, which should be partially buried. 
The protruding ends of these may stand in such a manner as to afford some shade to the 
fronds of the more delicate species, whilst their bases will serve to keep the roots moist 
and cool during the hottest summer weather. Such a mound may thus be raised to any 
height, and the outline formed in any shape ; the less formality the greater will be the effect, 
and an unsightly corner may be thus converted into the most effective and pleasing part of 
the garden. In like manner a blank and unsightly wall may be clothed with verdure by 
fixing burrs with cement over its surface in the form of pockets, in which ferns when planted 
will thrive admirably: the only requisites in this operation are to make the pockets with a 
hole in the bottom to carry away water, and sufficiently large to receive soil for the maintenance 
of a plant. 
The mixture of soil for the fernery should consist of rough peat, loam, leaf-mould, and 
coarse sand, in about equal parts; this will form a good compost for the ground-work, and in 
it the majority of the species will thrive, but in planting the most vigorous growing kinds a 
little extra loam should be placed round them, whilst the more delicate ones will require an 
addition of sandy peat. The limestone-loving ferns must be accommodated with that article, 
or the best substitute that can be found in the shape of old mortar or the like. 
In planting the fernery care must be taken to properly regulate the plants according to 
their heights ; the tall-growing species must be so disposed that their fronds do not hide the 
beauties of their dwarfer relatives and neighbours, and those particular kinds which carry their 
fronds through the winter months should so be distributed amongst the deciduous ones, that 
the whole may have a furnished and interesting appearance both winter and summer. Little 
more need be added with respect to the management of the open-air fernery. During the 
summer, if the weather is dry, the ferns must be kept well watered at their roots, but this 
should be done in a careful manner, avoiding the too common practice of pouring or dashing 
the water over the fronds, which is fatal to the uniformity of the plants, and serves no good 
purpose. In the autumn carefully extract all weeds, and instead of clearing away the fallen 
leaves, cover them neatly with a thin layer of mould ; this not only gives a neat and tidy 
appearance, but is in other ways preferable to the usual practice of forking between the plants, 
which we consider very detrimental to the roots. 
