Monday, November 24, 2008

Japanese Painted Ferns






In the front of my home off of the corner of the
porch is a very shady area where I have made a
small pump fountain or pond.
I had the usual Hostas and wood ferns planted
there along with Astilbes for early Spring color.
Of course shade loving Impatiens were planted in
containers to add color for the Summer but I wanted
a plant that would last Spring into Fall with some color
and texture, so I planted two Japanese Painted Ferns
in the bed. They have grown larger each year and are
just the plant that was needed for this spot around the
fountain.






The Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum',
is a low maintenance, deciduous fern with soft
grayish-green and silvery dark maroon foliage. Being
the Perennial of the Year for 2004, one can see
why. ‘Japanese Painted Fern’ has a plant spread of 24”
and a height of 24” and a must to any garden. Japanese
Painted Fern requires full shade, however, small amounts
of afternoon sun give the most vibrant color to its foliage.

A well-drained area is best, not allowing
it to dry out.
Perfect as a border plant, planted near streams or
ponds or as an accent plant. I have also since added
Jack Frost Brunnera to the bed to help light up the shady
bed.










7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this plant. I just wish I had a good shady place to plant it.

Lona said...

I painted fern would look lovely along your waterfalls!

Anonymous said...

I love, love, love Japanese Painted Ferns. But like Zach, my garden gets full sun in the summer, so I have no where to grow them. :-(

kd said...

I really love the painted ferns too -- especially how their silvery foliage provides a lovely contrast to the greener plants in the garden.

/krys

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi There .. I am a big fan of ferns and these in particular are wonderful. I have a few different cultivars and they are each so pretty in their own way. Great for shade beds and with brunneras .. I have Jack Frost and love "him to bits" .. something very relaxing about shade beds and with a water feature .. well it can't get much better can it ?
Joy

Unknown said...

Those are beautiful ferns. I'd love some of those in my woods. I'm not sure what variety it is that grows around here but there aren't any of those wonderful undertones in them.

Barbarapc said...

I've fallen in love with 'Ghost'. It seems to handle drought and heat better than the japanese painted fern for me - the Athyriums are indeed a very special group of ferns.