Why I Oughta...

Back in May, I planted seven quart-sized Autumn Ferns in the Stumpery , behind the row of All Gold Hakonechloa grasses on the southside of our garden.  Over the years, I've come to love Autumn Ferns and they're (maybe??) my favorite plant in the garden .   Two items on my 2026 to-do list are relevant to this post and I'll include them both below: 19. Upgrade the Stumpery. Better stumps. Better plants. Better wattle fence ?  Plus toss in continued Hosta replacement, too. The thing that I need to add here are even more Autumn Ferns. See #15. I have some Autumn Ferns and LOVE them. More is better. 15. Stay focused by using the concept of Repetition vs. new. I had this same one in my 2025 list . This is a reminder to future Jake who is staring at the tables at the nursery this Summer. Stop. Focus. More of what we have, not wandering diversity. See #1, #3, #8. That means: Sun Kings, Autumn Ferns, Ajuga, Sedums, Carex, Autumn Moor Grasses, Hakonecholas, Astilbes, Nepet...

Number 10 on my 2023 to-do list was to keep going on my 'fern upgrade' project.  That means that I need to say 'so long' (not goodbye) to my first fern love - the ostrich fern.  And begin to replace them with better performers.    I've written a few times about ferns that 'look good' after a full, not Summer and documented all of the various ferns in our garden in September .  At that time the Ostrich Ferns look tired and burned out.  The Autumn and Japanese Painted ferns do NOT.  Then, there's Winter - when the Autumn Ferns stick around and add some visuals to the mostly barren garden .   So, replacing Ostrich Ferns with other ferns is something that I've been trying to do - both through divisions as well as new additions.  When I planted the Inaba shadire Japanese Maple, I removed six Ostrich Fern clumps and put them in the far back.  I planted the tree a step-back from the border, allowing for a little planting near the edge of ...