Ferns Are Everybodies Friends!

Well apparently not! According To Monty Don from Gardeners' World ferns seem to be scoffed by some as simply an easy solution to a dry shady area! I expect the main protagonists are gin toting Ra Ra's ;-)! He was discussing this two weeks ago in the Gardeners' World episode set at Malvern Spring Gardening show. What is actually wrong with a plant that is an easy solution to a problem? In my rather short book on gardening ... naught!

To me they are another plant with fantastic personality. Over the course of the winter, in the UK, they shrivel up into nothing but mess due to the insane cold. Well it was insane this past winter. Temperatures as low as -18 decrees Celsius had all of us struggling. It seemed to be particularly harsh on the fern in our garden. In honesty I thought it was permanently deceased!

Then in mid April I was surprised by rapid signs of life! The introduction photo is of one of the fern fronds slowly unfurling. Say that quickly 5 times ;-). Below is a photo of the Octopus plant gradually coming out to play. Well to me they look like Octopus tentacles slowing uncoiling ;-)

By the end of the first week in May the fern is almost fully back on top form, as seen below

From mid march to now, and a beautiful splash of green in the shady corner of the garden. Love it. What's not to love about this transformation from a grisly decayed mess, slowly and most bizzarely slowly uncoiling into a very unique looking plant. Nothing I tell you! To all those Gin Toting Ra Ra Fern Haters I feel for you ;-)

That's all for now.

Cheers

m