This is the text from a Love Note From the Garden. See the original note at: https://mailchi.mp/6a7bea9a315d/christmas-fern
A fern that is native, deer resistant and evergreen – who wouldn’t want one (or a bunch) in their shade garden?
Yep, that’s me – Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) – native to the Eastern United States, thriving in dry to medium moisture in shade. Just don’t plant me in poorly drained sites, because that will rot my roots and kill me. Hey, I even look a bit tough, with leathery evergreen leaves.
If you already have a large Christmas fern, you could divide it into several plants and create a mass planting when the new growth just starts to show.
Creating a one to two foot tall clump, I would look great at the base of native azaleas, or as an evergreen backdrop to colorful coral bells. Tall daffodils can be planted among ferns, popping up as I rejuvenate myself with new spring foliage.
You know what else I can do? Stabilize a shady slope. You see, in winter my evergreen fronds lay a bit flat, holding leaves into place to create a blanket that fights erosion and eventually breaks down to create more soil I’m sure you can think of a spot in your garden for me.
Love,
Christmas Fern
Loves Notes from the Garden
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