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Cottage Gardens

Lichens, Moss and Ferns in the Winter Garden

15 years ago

Here's my page with Non-Flowering Plants in the Fall/Winter Garden. I use ferns and moss and lichens in the Fairy Garden for year-round interest.

Any new rocks I get, I give several baths of sour milk that would otherwise be discarded. Moss requires only patience and a little shade.

Nell

Here is a link that might be useful: Fern, Moss, Lichens and Fairy Garden

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Comments (10)

todancewithwolves
15 years ago
People pay lots of money for moss rocks. Yours are stunning. Love the fairy garden too. My crape myrtle has lichen on the branches and I love it.

Edna
aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
15 years ago
So I'm not weird after all? Nell your lichens and moss are beautiful. I'm trying to turn my front grass (refuse to call it a lawn) into a mossy carpet with wild white violets and species crocus growing through it. What's left of the grass can die for all I care. I also love the fungus growths on old wood and the different mushrooms that appear from time to time. Yep, another lichen and moss lover here. Ferns are another passion of mine, picking them up whenever I see them on sale.

Annette
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Hi all! Happy first day of Spring - especially for we northerners!!! Record snowfalls, record days below zero, that's what we had here in CT. I'm anxious about my saucer garden, but still optimistic. I took the last pix yesterday - the last day of winter. I can't yet get any closer than that pix shows but from what I can see, it's only the Blue Star Creeper that looks iffy to me. The three pix below are from Jan 21, Feb 14, and Mar 19, 2014. I still have a frozen stream along the path. In anticipation of success for this saucer experiment, let me add a few notes and tips that I forgot to include above. On my second try I used a lot of local dirt over the base of potting soil. Seems happier - potting soil not earthy enough? This sled is made of aluminum. I don't know about plastic - might its chemicals leach into the dirt over time? Maybe a year or two would be okay? I don't know - anybody else? Since last summer I water (drizzle) with rain water only, and only when needed, concentrating on the drier perimeter, letting it soak to the center. All that said, I'll probably finish this thread with one more pix in early summer - with critters. As for the rest of my time in here - I'm still learning from everyone else - with very little expertise. Onward and upward for us all - flowers included! -- K
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Comments (19)
Hey, Lee! Sorry for the late reply....I only stop by this Forum every few days or so. Anyhow, you'll have to forgive me but I know very little about moss species. I certainly love moss-habitats, though. As to your question regarding moss companions, I must recommend ferns! Since we are in a similar zone (7/8), I imagine that some of my fern species would work well for you, provided that these ferns are available. My favorite fern is Woodwardia fimbriata, the Giant Chainfern. Yes, it does consume a fair amount of water, but it is a fantastic plant that will help create a moist micro-climate in its immediate vicinity. As the name implies, this fern is a GIANT within four or five years. Three year-old plants are typically three feet tall by three feet wide. Under perfect conditions, Chainferns can grow to nine feet!!! (More often, six feet by six feet). So, if you have a big focal point, you might consider Woodwardia fimbriata. My next two suggestions are drought-tolerant ferns, which do quite well for me in northern California. Western sword fern, Polystichum munitum, is excellent for most applications. It grows into a nice, three by three foot mound, with attractive fronds most of the year. It will look ratty for a time, while the old fronds dry up and the new fronds unfurl. I have MANY sword ferns in my yard - I rely on them to fill spaces where other more sensitive plants might fail. The second drought-tolerant fern I recommend is known as Wood fern, or Dryopteris. I'm not sure of the exact species, but these grow superbly in dry oak woods (thus, wood fern, *dryops* meaning 'oak'). This fern is lighter green in color than the sword fern, and the fronds are more delicate. Generally, this fern only grows to about two to three feet. I grow them along the edge of the lawn, staggered with sword ferns, and as focal-pieces beside mossy oak-trunks/stumps or nice rocks. I also have several staged beneath redwoods and birches. I have about twenty of them, I'd guess (last time I went out to count, I was side-tracked by something or the other). In direct sunlight, they might stay rather compact for the first few years. To counter this, you might consider growing them in partial shade until they've sized up - either in-ground, or in containers. There are TONS of Dryopteris species, so you'll have to search around. I think mine *might be* Dryopteris spinulosa, but I could be wrong. Lastly, I'll recommend a fern that is new to me: the Alaskan fern, Polystichum setiferum. While this fern looks incredibly feathery and delicate, it is quite hardy....down to zone 5, I think. I have one in a container on my front deck, where it receives only post-noon sunlight. Mine has fronds approximately two feet long. In the summer, it is protected from direct sunlight by a large maple tree. I still haven't found the right place for it in the yard. I'll probably buy several of them this spring, as they are incredibly attractive. Josh
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OMG!!!!!!!!!! I can actually pull up your pictures here Jojo, but I can't see Joshes. What's up with that??!!!:-(.....:-) These are unbeleivably beautiful!!!!!! Wow do I love this thread.. Thanks Josh for telling me about it and for such a great time..Wait till you see what mine look like once the snow finally reveals some beauty! Oh, now I can't wait to go looking for more in places I never once thought to look, like the old woods up the street, the back of my brothers farm, and my friends woods! Jojo, you have places there in Arizona, that have some of the most amazing driftwood and stones you could ever see. I saw some in some state parks that I would never take, yup, I would not take because I would of felt wrong about that, but boy I hated to leave them there..lol I must be weird, because my friends would never notice things like this, and asked me what the heck I saw in them..Oh well, they are also the same ones that don't even know what a fern looks like. Josh, with the pics and places you have to discover, I can't wait to see what else you come up with.. I am jealous that all your weather is warming up..My temps reached the 50's today!!!Yup, I wore my shorts today for the first time while exposing my nice WHITE legs! God, between your cactus and Josh's unique rocks, moss, ferns, and so on, it makes one appreciate what the planet has to offer. I had a good trip here.. Take care dear friends, Mike..:-)
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GW Winter Semester Lichens 101
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Comments (27)
I created a blog for our outlined info and photos and as time allows will add more links and info. It is much easier to post a photo on our blog than it is on GW because you can upload directly from your "My Pictures" folder or anywhere on the web without the hassle of having to first up load to an Internet photo hosting site. Please forward me your email address and I will send you a blogger invitation so that you can post on the blog. One thing you might want to keep in mind is it might be best if your blog "screen name" is the same as your GW screen name. My email is katyguerin@comcast.net Now to continue with our class we have completed our first unit "Where Lichens Grow" Now we will move on to a new section "Lichen Growth Forms". Can someone provide us with a photo/info on leafy lichen = foliose Here is a link that might be useful: Lichen 101 Blog
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christinmk z5b eastern WA
15 years ago
-Annette you are not the only one. I LOVE moss, ferns, and lichens! I am always so excited when a patch of moss or lichens crops up in my shade garden. And if I ever buy a plant that has moss growing on the top I plant it too.
I am just a PNW kind of girl! I love the lush woodlands. I would not mind having my whole yard full of woodland-y plants at all.
CMK

Here is a link to a site I like. The site owner grows a lot of my favorite plants. I can't grow some of the things (higher zone), but I enjoy looking. Lots of ferns featued too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paghat's garden
schoolhouse_gw
15 years ago
I love them,too. Old stone and brick can sometimes give you the most wonderful surprises - yours are delightful.

And I also have a fairy nook under an old apple tree in the orchard. There's a little resin teapot shaped like a castle I set down there for them, and there's a variety of tiny fairy folk here and there sitting on branches or near the foot of the tree.
gottagarden
15 years ago
I'm a big fan of mosses, ferns and lichens. Take a close look at moss - there are several very different kinds. Our woods has at least 4 different kinds of mosses, I really should learn their names.

Nell, your rocks and fairy gardens are very nice, my daughter would just love those little tea sets and fairy homes.
flora_uk
15 years ago
Can't say I'm into fairies but I do like ferns and mosses. On the shady side of my garden I have planted several different ferns. They are useful as well as beautiful as they will grow where nothing else will. The evergreen ones are especially valuable but I also love the unfurling crosiers of the deciduous ones. It's particularly nice when a wild one pops up. In the SW of the UK it is very damp and ferns and mosses abound. A friend who lives in Guadaloupe said the woods round here reminded her of the tropical forests of her home island - green everywhere - but colder!
aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
15 years ago
In the planter around the sides and back of our little Koi pool I've planted several different types of ferns the neat thing is little ferns are now popping up everywhere on there own. I guess it's just the right environment for the spores to take hold and grow. One of my favorite ferns is our native maidenhair I keep dividing them and planting them whereever I find an appropriate spot. In the fall there's a type of mushroom/ fungus that grows out of the wood in the planter itself, kind of neat looking and we now have a type of moss growing on the stone in the little spillway. Old mother nature has taken over in this area of my garden and I couldn't be happier.

Annette
midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
15 years ago
Oh so pretty!! I was very pleased to discover that many of the bricks and stones around my new gardens have lovely thick moss. I always remember an acquaintence who bought a home that had large rocks at the back, covered with moss. Since I garden, she called me to find out how to get rid of the moss. Gasp.

Flora - perhaps you have Brownies?? ;-))

Nancy.
FlowerLady6
15 years ago
Love your pictures Nell. I'll have to go out with my camera to see what I can come up with as I have lichens, moss and ferns also, just no fairies.

Thanks for the inspiration to take another look around to see all of the beauty that surrounds us.

FlowerLady
DYH
15 years ago
I love your gardens so much! Very pretty.

I need to go out in to the "back two" (our wooded land) to see what's growing in the woods.

Cameron

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