Wealden Times | WT206 | April 2019 | Garden supplement inside
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the Wardian case by one Dr Nathaniel Ward. He<br />
realised that ferns grew well in nearly sealed containers<br />
and thus every house that possibly could, had ferns<br />
growing indoors in either a fern case or terrarium.<br />
Not only that, Victorian houses and public buildings<br />
were often embellished with ironwork incorporating fern<br />
imagery. Ferns decorated every possible object in a Victorian<br />
house including wallpaper, tablecloths and curtains. The<br />
craze even extended to ferns being carved onto coffins.<br />
Ferns are an ancient family of plants. Work done on<br />
early fern fossils has established that they pre-date the<br />
Mesozoic period of over 360 million years ago. They are<br />
older than the dinosaurs and any land animals and thrived<br />
on the Earth for 200 million years before any flowering<br />
plants evolved. They are a member of a group of vascular<br />
plants that do not flower or set seed but reproduce via<br />
spores and have very specialised tissues that conduct<br />
both water and nutrients around their structure.<br />
One of the most exotic-looking ferns growing in the UK<br />
are the chain ferns or woodwardia. To say that they are<br />
theatrical is an understatement. The fronds of Woodwardia<br />
unigemmata, AGM can reach 1.5 metres and the croziers<br />
are a rich and vibrant dark orange when they emerge in<br />
the spring. Once the plant matures, it grows young plants<br />
“Ferns thrived on Earth for 200 million<br />
years before any flowering plants evolved”<br />
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on the tips of its fronds which arch over and take root.<br />
The reason for the name ‘chain fern’ is that their<br />
sporing bodies are arranged on the back of the<br />
fronds in a row resulting in a chain-like pattern<br />
which shows through to the top of the frond.<br />
I had a good look at the fronds of the woodwardia<br />
that I spotted at Great Dixter recently (it’s evergreen<br />
which is all the more reason for growing it) and the<br />
chain pattern was very pronounced on the top of the<br />
frond. That one is growing in a very sheltered position<br />
protected by a wall and by various shrubs which<br />
keep the winter winds from shredding its fronds.<br />
Woodwardia fimbriata is another giant chain fern<br />
with fronds up to six feet long and whilst it is hardy<br />
down to about -5 degrees C, it is happiest in a moist<br />
soil and a sheltered aspect. Or perhaps in a pot which<br />
can be moved into a greenhouse or garage during the<br />
winter. If left out, bracken (another fern) wrapped<br />
around the base will help protect the plant.<br />
If you do decide to keep ferns in a pot, a good<br />
growing medium would be three parts multi-purpose,<br />
part loam and part horticultural sand. A grouping<br />
of the evergreen or wintergreen ferns is so beautiful<br />
particularly in small or courtyard gardens where they<br />
provide such fabulous winter interest and work well with<br />
emerging winter aconites, snowdrops and hellebores.<br />
Evergreen ferns can be good in shaded, perhaps dreary<br />
spots. Blechnum chilense, AGM, a large fern with dark green<br />
narrow leathery leaves is good for this sort of site but also<br />
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