Projo Garden Blog

For years and years, even when I was very young in my native country of Thailand, I was always fascinated by ferns. In those days I remembered seeing the black spores in the back of the fronds and had no idea what they were. I also remembered seeing different kinds of ferns used in floral arrangements.

Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris (Pteretis pensylvanica) Lady Fern, Athyrium filix-femina

There are 4 types of ferns in my garden; two of them I planted and two seemed to have adopted my backyard as their natural habitat. I didn't even know the name of the one I planted a few years back.

Sensitive Fern , Onoclea sensibilis

The Japanese painted fern, my favorite, was the last one I planted three years ago.

Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum 'pictum'

Some of the ferns are edible. Two weeks ago I saw fiddle head ferns sold in the local market, which I have yet to try. I was told that they have to be boiled for a long time. Some of the ferns in my backyard look a lot like fiddleheads, but I would not dare to try them.

I, and probably most of us, know so little about ferns. Every time I try to read up on ferns, I get terribly confused -- the whole topic sounds very complicated. There is such a wealth of information about ferns. I could never make it as a pteridologist. A study of ferns (Pteridophyta) is called Pteridology.

Cinnamon Fern, Osmunda cinnamomea

There are more than 20,000 species of ferns.

Ferns appeared in fossils and have been around more than 200 million years.

One of the memorable experiences I had while visiting Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts was seeing countless different types of beautiful ferns. They have recently put up a fern gallery on their website.

I have also found a very interesting fern - video blog, originating from Coastal fynbos in South Africa.

If you want to identify the ferns in your yard, Quick Guide to the Common Ferns of New England shows you 17 ferns in detail, with photos.

 Tags  fern

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