While much of the garden has gone to seed and slumber, drying out and dying back for the season, most of the ferns are still as fresh and verdant as when they first unfurled their fronds at the start of spring. It’s one of the main draws of the fern family – their beauty is almost everlasting.
It’s an under-appreciated benefit to have such a scene of freshness in the garden this late in the game. There are sunny and warm days yet to come – and even after this Labor Day weekend summer will still technically linger until nearer the end of September. Let’s not hurry it away, even if it has been especially hurtful.
To make the show last even longer, many ferns can be flattened and dried – they do exceptionally well as pressed specimens, making for framed beauty to see us through the winter.
