Friendly Ferns: Easy and adaptable, these ancient flora can find a fit in so many places

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For the first time, the national Perennial Plant Association has chosen a fern as the Perennial Plant of the Year. The 2004 winner is the Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum,' a lacy little beauty with silvery-gray foliage on burgundy-stemmed fronds. Perhaps ferns are finally being properly appreciated, for these most ancient of Earth's flora are also among the most adaptable and least needy of garden plants.

Just think of the possibilities: ground covers like the petite maidenhair spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes) grow only about 6 inches tall, while the feathery ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) tops out at 6 feet. Unlike tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) that suffered severe damage and death last winter when the temperature dropped, ostrich ferns hail from Alaska, so they're dependably hardy. Undeterred by late frosts, in early spring they push up the tender, curly fiddleheads served in gourmet restaurants. If left unpicked, these furry coils unfurl and stretch to grow up above our heads. Or how about a screen of Wallich's wood fern (Dryopteris wallichiana), a dramatic 5-foot splay of fronds with orange new growth set off by shaggy black scales?

Sue Olsen, owner of Foliage Gardens Nursery and stalwart of the Hardy Fern Foundation, explains that there are ferns suited to every design dilemma and garden situation, from dry shade to sunny bogs. Fluffy royal ferns (Osmunda regalis) and sensitive ferns (Onoclea sensibilis) thrive in full sun and wet soil. According to fossil evidence, the latter has been around for 54 million years, so this fern should fit anyone's definition of a sustainable plant, especially in our ideal fern-fostering climate. The strikingly wide-fronded Dryopteris sieboldii and the vigorous D. x complexa both grow lustily in dry shade. Ferns need little or no fertilizing, (although they appreciate a dressing of mulch), suffer few pests, and while some may creep a bit, they aren't invasive.

Hostas, epimedium, astilbes, arisaemas and hellebores all make fine companions for ferns in shade-dappled borders. The exotically textured or colored foliages sported by many ferns perk up stretches of green foliage. The sunset-toned autumn fern (D. erythrosora), the pearly gray fronds of Athyrium 'Ghost,' and the lime-and-maroon color scheme of the eared lady fern (Athyrium otophorum) all earn a place in the flashy-foliage hall of fame.

If you want to submerge yourself in the world of ferns, Olsen recommends you visit the Hardy Fern Foundation Habitat Garden, a frond-filled extravaganza of 130 species and hybrids, at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden (2525 S. 336th St., Federal Way, 253-661-9377). The Bainbridge Island Public Library offers a lush garden of ferns and companion plants designed and installed by Hardy Fern Foundation President John van den Meerendonk, the man behind the lovely fern display filling the Signature Bed at the Washington Park Arboretum through autumn.

And when you inevitably run into an irresistible fern or two, take comfort in knowing that an outstanding selection of rare and unusual ferns and companion plants will be on sale next weekend at the annual Fern Festival (see the accompanying box). Be warned you may have to beat out collectors for such new-on-the-scene hotties as the Himalayan maidenhair fern, which creeps to form a delicate little evergreen carpet. Check out the brand new British cultivar of the Japanese painted fern called 'Apple Court,' which has crested fronds, meaning the tips are appealingly forked. But don't be daunted, for all the ferns chosen by the Great Plant Picks committee will be available, along with expert advice on selecting the ferns best suited to your garden.

A Festival and Sale

The Hardy Fern Foundation Festival and Sale will be held at the Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 N.E. 41st St., from 1 to 6 p.m. June 4 , and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 5. At 7:30 p.m. June 4, garden designers Charles Price and Glenn Withey will present a slide lecture on "Ferns and Companion Plantings for Woodland Settings." Cost is $7, payable at the door; the rest of the festival is free.

For more information, see www.hardyferns.org. Valerie Easton is a Seattle free-lance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.

Now In Bloom

So many new types of heucheras are around that it seems like they're breeding out in the garden the minute you turn your back. Old-fashioned coral bells are now grown for their scalloped foliage in shades from amber to chocolate. They prefer partial to full shade and moist, well-drained soil. And if you divide them every couple of years, these perennials are nearly evergreen. One of the prettiest introductions is Heuchera 'Green Spice' with silvery-gray leaves veined in beet red and sprays of creamy little flowers in June. In summer its foliage matches the silvery and wine tones of painted ferns, and complements burgundy astrantias.