@Fairygirl that is great advice. I will be attentive with the watering as time goes on next year, and we'll see if they can take. There is quite a canopy there so they will definitely need that extra watering attention. Let's hope my particular set up of shade/light, rain (and me with a watering can), soil will be acceptable for them.
I went to my local garden centre which is quite a way off so I don't go often, but I saw some nice ferns I was quite tempted by. These ones look much better than the two I bought online actually. I didn't buy at the garden centre but took some pictures, and they are an option for the future.
@Rubytoo the lady in the video is great, I feel well prepared now! I love the idea of propagating and making a shady fern garden. The way the fern makes these tiny fernlets is ingenious.
@Songbird-2 and @Loxely I like the idea of logs or nice-shaped branches, and artfully arranged pots, to fill in the space around the fern area as they grow. Anything to discourage those cats from going there!
@Pink678 The main thing to check with ferns is what sort of soil they like. Some must have a retentive soil whilst others are happy in a dry soil. Some are also more tender. The ladder fern? in the first photo can be grown as a house plant but is also happy in a garden. Photo two is Asplenium which is happy in a wet soil. Three could be a Polystichum Herrenhausen not sure but the rest could be more tender.
There is a thread 'Fond of Fronds'. If you have the names of some you might like to purchase in the future you could try a post there for some expert advice. I have mentioned Polystichum Setiferum this fern I have found can vary alot some are far better plants than others. Purchasing from an expert Fern Grower will ensure you get the best. However you may be just as happy with those you see at the GC. Personally I think ferns can be like ornamental grasses they look better with other plants which have different shape leaves and textures rather than planted on their own.
Some are Evergreen some disappear over winter leaving gaps which you may not want.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
@Pink678 Just to add, I remove the old leaves on evergreen ferns end of April or just as the new croziers start to unfurl. Like the epimediums you do need to take care not to damage new growth. This will still create a gap around the plant, eventually when you are able to add other plants they will be taking up the interest this time of year. One of the most beautiful moments in a garden is when a fern unfurls in spring.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
@GardenerSuze I will make sure to do that - I need to look up each separate fern before buying and check what kind of soil and moisture they want. The soil where I want to put the ferns is not the very shaded and dry area directly under the canopy - it's the area the other side of the leylandii trunks but still close to them, next to the path to the shed. It does seem to get moister there than under the canopy, and it's partial shade I would say, as the light filters in but there is no direct sun at all.
The two ferns I got online and planted are Polystichum Setiferum Plumosum - they arrived smaller than expected for 2 litre but I'm trusting the root system is there.
A specialist fern grower is an excellent idea.
That's a very helpful idea to consider growing ferns along with other shaped plants, I was thinking 'fern garden' but now you say it, I can imagine more variety would look good. This is a big part of gardening I am learning, to visualise the finished product - but of course nature can have other ideas.
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There is a thread 'Fond of Fronds'. If you have the names of some you might like to purchase in the future you could try a post there for some expert advice. I have mentioned Polystichum Setiferum this fern I have found can vary alot some are far better plants than others. Purchasing from an expert Fern Grower will ensure you get the best. However you may be just as happy with those you see at the GC.
Personally I think ferns can be like ornamental grasses they look better with other plants which have different shape leaves and textures rather than planted on their own.
Some are Evergreen some disappear over winter leaving gaps which you may not want.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/dryopteris
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
One of the most beautiful moments in a garden is when a fern unfurls in spring.