Ferns

The Stumpery!

'The Fernery' was originally going to be 'The Black Bed' and the story behind this can be found on 'The Archway' page but, in a nutshell, we changed our minds within 24 hours – having seen a fantastic display of ferns at Newbank Garden Centre. As their display (right) consisted of a lot of driftwood we decided to attempt something similar!

Having decided that this area would be called 'The Fernery' we saw an episode of 'Great British Garden Revival' on BBC2 where they referred to these areas as 'The Stumpery'. Admittedly the areas shown were significantly larger but we rather like the term!

West Coast Driftwood
Attached to one of the three pieces of driftwood we purchased was a laminated card which had the following information about the pieces.....

"New Zealand, the world's most isolated significant landmass presents a barrier to prevailing westerlies sweeping uninhabited across open ocean. Incomprehensible tectonic forces have pushed up the dramatic Southern Alps from the molten depths. Three thousand metre mountains rise less than thirty kilometres from the sea. Forced to rise, the moist air rapidly cools. Water vapour precipitates as rain or snow. In the wet warm lowlands huge prodocarps grow wild and unbroken beech forest clothes upper slopes.

Yet it is a dynamic world – trees die, storms rage, slips and earthquakes hint at slower changes on a vast scale. West Coast rivers, huge and steep, grind and line the wood then deliver it to the sea. Whipped by westerlies the sea inevitably returns to the land what is hers. Great roots, branches and unnumerable fragments receive a final salty sandblast resting on windy West Coast beaches.

Your piece, whether it be Matai, Rata, Totora or Rimu is a product of New Zealand's unique geography, nature's unstoppable creative forces, wind, sand and sea. Some pieces are just as nature sculpted them, to others West Coast artists have added a little grinding and sandblasting of their own. Each is unique, impossible to reproduce."

We purchased three pieces of 'Rimu' driftwood – top right £19.99; above left £34.99 and above right £14.99 from Newbank Garden Centre, together with a couple of ferns as a starter. The following day we went to Marple Garden Centre and purchased a couple more ferns. As we had already purchased a few 'black' plants for the originally proposed 'Black Bed' we decided to still plant these with the ferns – probably not ideal for a full blown fernery but, so far, we are pleased with the results.

Newbank received a further two visits from us for two more pieces of driftwood (£14.99) each and seven ferns (one is strictly a pine!). Having put all these in place we feel that we are now virtually where we want to be as, of course, assuming that everything takes, they will grow – some to a significant size. Below are two photos of what The Fernery is looking like at 19th June, 2013. The next steps will be to put mulch (chopped bark) down on the bed itself and to create a gravel path around the bed to fit in with the rest of the garden.

Also, in June, some friends gave us some cuttings of Rudbeckia. As we had not heard of these plants, we decided to plant them along the edge between the bed and the decking. The bottom right, of the four photos below, shows how well the Rudbeckia have taken and, in fact, they would still have been suitable for the original planned black bed - as the flowers have black centres!

The first two photos below were taken on 19th June, with the following two taken on 4th August, 2013 – as can be seen the area has very quickly become established.

2014
As the Coleus died off over the autumn and the Rudbeckia had begun to take over we dug them all out and let the ferns take their natural course over the winter months. We also purchased a tree fern late in the season and are still trying to establish (April 2014) exactly where to position it before deciding whether to plant it or leave it in its pot.

Ferns...

Please click on photos for larger versions

Arthyrium 'Ghost' DB Garden Nurseries 1 April, 2014 – £6.00

Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum' Japanese Painted Fern DB Garden Nurseries 1 April, 2014 – £6.00

Tree Fern Marple Garden Centre

Dryopertis filix-mas Linear Male Fern June 2013 Unfortunately, in March 2014 we thought we had lost this fern so took out the label and took the details of this website page. On 18th April, 2014 I noticed that it was peeping through again!

Dryopertis affinis Crispa Scaled Male Fern Newbank Garden Centre 17 June, 2013 – £4.49 or £6.99

Polystichum tsussimense Dwarf Holly Fern Newbank Garden Centre 17 June, 2013 – £1.49 Although this fern had a mixture of dead and new growth, we decided to still purchase it in the hopes we could trim it back to encourage the new growth.

Dryopertis erythrosora Japanese Rosy Buckler Newbank Garden Centre 14 June, 2013 – £1.49

Dryopertis wallichiana Wallich's Fern Newbank Garden Centre 14 June, 2013 – £1.49

Wollemia nobilis Wollemi Pine Newbank Garden Centre 14 June, 2013 – £34.99

Dryopertis erythrosora Marple Garden Centre 11 June, 2013 – £12.99       Photo 14.6.13

Dryopertis dilatata 'Crispa Whiteside' Marple Garden Centre 11 June, 2013 – £12.99   Photo 14.6.13

Polystichum polyblepharum 'Jade' Newbank Garden Centre 10 June 2013 – £4.99       Photo 14.6.13

Dryopteris Newbank Garden Centre 10 June 2013 – £15.99       Photo 14.6.13

Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum' Harrogate Spring Flower Show 26 April, 2013 – £TBC We are hoping that this fern will pick up now it has been planted outside. It has suffered a little between purchasing it at the show and planting it.   Photo 14.6.13

Polystichum makinoi Harrogate Spring Flower Show 26 April, 2013 – £TBC       Photo 14.6.13

Asplenium scolopendrium 'Marginatum' This fern has, not only been in the garden since we moved in during August 2008, but has also regularly been moved around the garden – simply because it was in the way of other projects. It has clearly survived but, hopefully, has now found its permanent home with several other friends! Photo 14.6.13

Others...

Black Plants – these were some of the plants we had purchased for the 'Black Garden' which we thought we would still plant even though, eventually, the ferns will become more predominant!

Alstromeria Inticancha Purple Marple Garden Centre 11 June, 2013 – £12.99

Cordyline austra 'Red Star' Newbank Garden Centre 10 June, 2013 – £7.99

Canna Red 'Black Night' Marple Garden Centre 24 May, 2013 – £4.99

Iris 'Langport Wren' Marple Garden Centre 19th April, 2013 – £10.99 This was kept in the greenhouse until 11th June when it was planted in The Fernery. The photos below show its progression from 14th to 24th May, 2013 Below are photos of the first flower(s) opening – please click on each image for a larger version

Acknowledgements & Further Information
Black Plants by Paul Bonine, Published by Timber Press – ISBN-13:978-0-88192-981-2
DB Garden Nurseries, Nursery Road, off Dukinfield Road, Hyde, SK14 4PD - Tel: 0161 368 3008 (ferns)
Marple Garden Centre (ferns and other plants)
Newbank Garden Centre (driftwood & ferns)

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