Ferns are beautiful plants for the shade garden. In general they love moisture, cool temperatures and filtered or full shade. At Dawn Gardens, I irrigate with drip or spray. The ferns under spray irrigation always do better than the ones under drip; ferns prefer the high humidity.

Here are some ferns growing under the Dogwoods and Oaks at Dawn Gardens:

Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)

Southern Sword Fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia) spreads by rhizomes.

Five Finger Fern (Adiantum aleuticum)

Holly Fern (Crytomium falcatum)

Leather Fern (Rumohra adiantiformis)

Polystichum tsusimense

Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora)

Picture Fern (Athyrium nipponicum ‘Pictum’)

Silver Ribbon Fern (Pteris cretica ‘Albo Lineata’)

Coniogramme gracilior?

Giant Chain Fern (Woodwardia fimbriata)

The common name is from the arrangement of the sori on the back side of the leaves which looks like links on a chain.

Lady Fern (Athyrium felix-femina)

Myers Asparagus (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myers’) This is actually not a fern but it is often categorized with ferns because it looks like one with its fine texture and its love for shady spots.

Tasmanian Tree Fern (Dicksonia antarctica) The bottom photo is of a plant that is 40 years old.

California Polypody (Polypodium californicum) This fern is deciduous in the summer. It is native in this spot next to the rocks at Dawn Gardens.

Here are some ferns that sprouted in a north facing rock wall. I never planted them; they just came up on their own because of the cool moist wall. This is the Leather Fern (Rumohra adiantiformis).