Two More Autumn Ferns Planted - In Stumpery - June 2025

I've made it clear that Autumn Ferns are near the top of my list for favorite perennial in the garden.   Having fallen in love with ferns via the Ostrich Fern, I've come to understand that there are other varieties that perform better - at least for me.  When I talk about performance, I'm talking about full, four-season interest.  Ostrich Ferns - which...naturalize....look great for a season-and-a-half.  They're great in Spring and most of Summer, but they begin to brown out in the heat of August.  

Autumn Ferns put on a show all year long - and are....semi-evergreen.  

I've been on a multi-year journey that I call my 'hosta replacement' program - that includes upgrading some of our borers from being hosta-centric to include other, more-preferred plants like Hakonechloa Macra grasse and....Autumn Ferns.

At Menards, I found a pair of Autumn Ferns for just $3.99 each.  They were in quart-sized containers and were hanging-on (as stuff does at Menards early in the season).

Naturally, I bought them.  In fact...if they had more, I would have bought those, too.  But, for now, I'll have to be satisfied with two new ferns.

I'm planting them in the stumpery - behind the existing row of All Gold Japanese Forest Grasses.  You can see the two ferns in their containers standing behind the All golds in the middle/top of this photo:

This is a full-shade bed, so they'll be happy here:

Can you divide Autumn Ferns?  That's something I should figure out. 

These ferns add to the 'repetition' theme that I've been focused on this year - as this is now the second colony of the same ferns in our back garden.