Ferns

Yes, I love them too. And like you, I'm surprised at how much sun they enjoy. I've grown lots in pots, but they always grow better in the ground. :) enjoy!

Thanks Karen. I think most things grow better in the ground, but I think I'll try a couple. I'll let you know how I get on!

Yes, go for it. They look really lovely in pots too. :))

;-)

They look great !!!, love how they're growing in the wall,nature always has the best ideas :-)
I'm growing one in a hollow tree stump in our little wood which is doing really well :-)

they are very nice I think at there best when the new fronds unfurl in spring,I find the harts tongue grows in any situation bright sun to deep shade.

Thanks Simbad. Having one in a hollow tree stump sounds really lovely.

I agree, Brian, they are lovely when they are unfurling. The hart's tongue ferns are amazing. When my parents lived on their narrowboat, they often went past an old viaduct over the Leeds-Liverpool canal where there were hundreds of them growing on the old brickwork - a fantastic sight.

Fascinating, how they grow everywhere in your place. You must have there soil rich in humus. Are you close to forests?

Ferns always look exotic to me :) You're lucky to have them spread through your garden ...

I love how they cling on to the smallest bit of earth and do not seem to mind, wet, hot, cold, dry the native ones grow like crazy here. I love them too. :O) I have a small Harts tongue one in a pot and it seems to like it. It gets sunshine until noon and then is in shade for the rest of the day.:O)

Hart's tongues go mad everywhere here (haven't got any in the garden though) but would not survive at all where we lived before, which was dry and sandy. Our wild bank which has a lot, was one of the reasons I was keen on this house!
Its wonderful how they have colonised the space between your two walls, where you'd have expected brambles and wilowherb!
They are obviously enjoying the lovely shady parts of your garden.

Lovely blog. I will try a Hart's Tongue in my old dead
apple tree trunk.

Katarina - I have just about the sandiest soil imaginable, though I have been able to build it up over the last 40 years. I think it shows just how adaptable some ferns can be.

I am lucky, Hywel. I agree that they look exotic, and I love seeing them pop up in a mixed border - it certainly adds variety!

They look great in the walls, don't they, Barbara? The space between the two walls is filling up quite rapidly , and yes - much better than brambles and willowherb. It's only in about the last 10 years that the ferns have established there, and now they are taking off!

Steragram - I think the hart's tongues are a little more discriminating than the shuttlecocks (see my comment to Katarina about the soil here - when the boys were young we had a sandpit. It was just part of the lawn with the top 4 inches scraped off! Not very hygienic, I realise now!) I think the type of fern I have most of must be extremely laid back!

Thank you Diane. The apple tree sounds like a good idea, and would look lovely.

Not very hygienic is good for kids (up to a point)- builds their immunity! I wonder why the harts tongue survive in the dry when they wouldn't for me? I feel discriminated against!

If you were to look again, I think you might find that mine are in the shadier, damper parts of the garden - the wall they are growing out of gets no direct sun at all, and the side passage only gets a very small amount of evening sun. The large one down at the bottom is shaded most of the day, except in late afternoon, so please don't feel victimised!

What a nice blog Melchisedec I thought ferns needed the shade until I moved here, we have some hart’s tongue growing in the bank in the dell and it is in sun most of the day. I love the way ferns just pop up here and there, plants for free lol

Thanks, Teds. They are lovely plants, and quite surprising!

Ferns don't do very well in my clay soil so I grow quite a few in pots. Most of the ones I planted in the ground started to diminish (think the clay is too dry for them in summer) but perked up again in largish pots

I'm glad to hear that they do well in your pots, Annella. I haven't got around to getting any yet, but I rather fancy some different ones. I like some permanent containers, and I think they would add a bit of variety.

Have you seen the Japanese Painted ferns (Athyrium
nipponicum) Melchi?

They look lovely Steragram

I have just Googled them, Stera. They are beautiful. Very tempting...