".................of cool, tranquil woodland. Whether they are in shade or sunlight, there is something mysterious in the fur-backed thrusting stems and the fragility of pale, curled fronds."
Beth Chatto said it very well. I like all the plants in my garden... but ferns are clearly special in my mind. Each spring I look for tightly coiled fronds just beginning to unfurl... I look closely to see if the unfurling frond will have a covering of soft golden hair... I carefully count to see if there are more fronds than there were last year... but mostly I just stand transfixed by a process as beautiful as it is ancient.
I lost two ferns last winter... both Japanese Tassel Ferns. This quote from the Missouri Botanical Garden plant database probably explains why these two were lost. They said, "Consider planting rhizome at an angle to help combat potential crown rot problems which most often occur in poorly drained soils." This is something I did not think to do... so I may have to try this fern one more time. It is very beautiful.

I'm not having any problems with the Autumn Fern and 'Ghost' Fern in these photos. Autumn Fern might be one of the easier ferns to grow in a home garden... it is also one of the prettiest ferns. Newly unfurled fronds have a distinct bronze coloration that colors, by late May, to a good solid green color. And they continue to throws fronds through the summer months... getting larger as the season progresses and maintaining the bronze/ green
coloration of fronds much of the season.