Nature will always be the best painter. With a limitless canvass of possibility and an endless array of colors and shades, every little piece of natural wonder carries its own specific aspect of beauty. Occasionally the beauty is deep, dark and sunken – hidden caves of stalactites and stalagmites, sparkling with crystals and running with water, never to be seen by human eyes. Occasionally it is more subtle, hiding in plain sight, such as the patch of clover the almost-meticulous homeowner finds in their lawn that might at first feel like a blight on the pristine sameness of the grass but can, upon closer inspection, be a wayward bit of delight simply by being different. In the happiest of circumstances, beauty is glaringly apparent, as it often is in the garden.
One of my favorite plants is the Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum). It’s been chronicled here a number of times, and is always worth a revisit, especially at this time of the year, when the bright chartreuse greens of spring begin ripening into something deeper, and the stifling hold of summer is almost upon us. These fronds bring a cooling and calming effect into what is usually an explosive season of color.
It addition to being one of the most beautiful ferns widely available, it adds an ease of care and culture to its merits, and such vigor has resulted in several groups of such beauty which have established themselves around our yard. Pretty paintings now abound in a number of shaded nooks, waiting to be discovered by the careful and observant wanderer.
The older I get, the more beauty I find in those gardens that whisper rather than shout – the cooling foliage and tranquil forms combine for an effect of serenity which speaks to me more than a riotous cacophony of bright flowers and fiery floral-technics.
