There is a mistaken belief that all ferns are happiest in shaded
parts of the garden. Some are most certainly not, whilst others
can put up with half sun and half shade – dappled shade.
This list will give you some ideas for best ferns in the different shade
areas of the garden – dry shade and damp shade
Our
best selection of shade loving ferns includes both evergreen and
deciduous ferns. Many are suited for growing in containers – the
evergreens are particularly useful for this. All ferns are happy in
association with other groups of plants – shrubs and perennials if the
soil conditions are suitable.
You may have to hunt round many garden centres or try a specialist nursery. Most ferns are sold as reasonably mature specimens in containers, and are quite easy to establish if you follow the cultural instructions for the individual varieties.
Ferns are not only green in colour. There are several with different
shades of pink and a couple of variegated forms with interesting
foliage. Again, there is a wide variation in the foliage types. You
could not want a more different foliage variation, than those of the
Hart’s Tongue fern and the Maidenhair types
All of the ferns we list in this section are hardy in all but the most severe of winters, but it is always best to give a little winter protection to protect the crowns of prized specimens.
Left - Polystichum polyblepharum - Right - Matteuccia
struthiopteris
Others to try include Dryopteris erythrosora which has purple red young foliage with a little variegation.
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