Why I Oughta...

Last Fall, I tentatively stepped into the Ghost Ferns Dividing Business.  I had four original plants to start when I lifted one in the Fall of 2022 and created five Ghost Ferns.  I took a look at the five - the two divided segments returned this year - in Spring .  With that success under my belt, I took on dividing the rest of them. From five ferns, I now have eight ferns.   I left the two that resulted from 2022 divisions intact.  And divided up the remaining three - to create three new ferns.   Below is the 'after' showing seven Ghost Ferns in this section including one *behind* the Weeping Nootka Cypress tree.  Seven, you say?  Where's the last one?  I put it on the side of the house lining the new Boardwalk: Below are a few in-process Ghost Fern dividing photos: More Ghost Ferns is on my 2024 agenda.  Fern upgrade in process. I'm posting this in November 2023, but I did this dividing and transplanting in mid-October 2023.

That photo (above) shows the five Ghost Ferns (Athyrium 'Ghost') that I planted (as a set of four) in the Spring of 2021. They were from the Morton Arboretum Spring sale and they've thrived since they were added to our backyard shade garden.  Why are there five Ghost Ferns when I planted four?  No...they're not spreading ferns like the Ostrich Fern that sends out underground runners.   The reason that there are (now) five of these ferns is because last Fall, I divided one of them into two .   At that time, I only divided one because I was a little afraid.  I didn't want to kill all of them off. I did the same dividing with some Shaggy Shield ferns and my fears were well-placed as not all of the divisions made it this year.   But, the Ghost Fern division not only survived, but it appears to have had a good year and is a vigorous, healthy fern.   Why do I bring this up?  First...to remind myself and to help prioritize my Fall dividing program.  But, also because of

Last Fall, I went around and divided some of the ferns that had been clump-growing in our backyard - including one of the Japanese Ghost Ferns.  I had four of them ( see this photo from last Summer ) and decided to divide just one of them (read: I was scared to divide all of them) and stick the new division in the ground adjacent to the other four.   How did that division go?  See below for (now) five Japanese Ghost Ferns: Pretty great to see this division take and has me thinking about dividing the other three this Fall.   However...there is another side to this fern-division story.  The Shaggy Shield Ferns that I similiarly divided last Fall?  Those divisions....didn't take.    I started with two Shaggy Shield Ferns that I split up into four ferns .  What do I have now?  Just two ferns.   Win some (Fall perennial divisions), lose some (Fall perennial divisions).

Yesterday, I posted about the 22 new hostas that I (now) have in the garden thanks to the magic of perennial plant Fall dividing.  I also went about dividing some other plants in the garden:  Shaggy Shield and Japanese Painted Ghost Ferns. First up, the Shaggy Shield Ferns.  I should have included these in my recent ' ferns that still look good ' post, but I missed them.   I p lanted these two - along with a pair of Tassel Ferns - in May of 2021 .  A year-and-a-half later they're doing really well.  Grew up and out.  Below is a photo showing how big and proud these two ferns were pre-dividing. They are a thicket of fronds. Because I didn't love where they were located (kind of hidden), I decided to dig them both up.  I also dug up a handful of Ostrich Ferns and relocated them back around the tree swing tree.   Below is what one of the Shaggy Shield Ferns looked like including the root clump.  (I wired up the fronds to keep them out of the way.) Here's the other one

I've long talked about how my favorite garden plant family are ferns.  Hostas are a close second.  Why?  Because my Mom was a shade gardener who toiled in her garden over the years with hostas .  Our backyard is mostly shade, so like my mother...I, too, am a shade gardener.  That means finding things that work well in shade and/or part shade.  That has lead me to lists like this that talk about various things that work well in shade like heucheras , lungwort and...of course ferns and hostas.  Over the years, I've planted various ferns in our gardens, but my first fern love was the Ostrich Fern .  I've had them in our garden in Elmhurst, brought a couple to my sister & Equation Boy's house (when we lived there) and have them here in Downers .  And, while they're really great ferns, they start to look a little ragged as the growing season goes on.  But, on a recent walk around the garden, I've noticed that a couple of varieties of ferns are looking REALLY goo

Last year, I planted four Japanese Ghost Lady Ferns that I brought home from the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale around the base on the Weeping Nootka tree .  These have done remarkably well in this spot and are putting on quite a show right now.  Below is a peek at them: These are some of the various Pictum Japanese ferns that we have - but these are characterized as Lady Ferns.