A Pteridophyte Botanical Garden

Abstract

When we purchased home we acquired also trapezoidal piece of land at the end of the backyard about 65 X 20 X 55 X 15 feet. The northeast corner of the plot was good 2 feet lower than the back yard. The southwest corner-6 inches higher. Midway across the plot was bank with 45 degree slope. The plot was surrounded by trees on four sides with dead and decaying wild cherry tree in the center. The ground was covered with vegetation: mostly Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) interspersed with Gill over the ground (Nep,eta hederacea) and Burdock (Arctium lappa) on the higher southern section, and an almost pure stand of Celandine poppy (Chelidonium majus) on the lower northern section. Poison ivy flourished along two sides of the property line. It seemed like a good piece of land to because it would serve as buffer between property and potential building lot. But it looked like miserable piece of land to own if you cared about yards and growing plants. Even after we cut down the old and dying wild cherry trees on property, pushed over the dead tree in the middle of the plot, pulled the hundreds of celandines, poisoned the poison ivy and dug out the dock, the area looked hopeless. The trees on neighbors' properties shaded one part or another all through the day and the terrain was neither suited to gardening nor mowing. So we dubbed it our woods and decided to specialize in ferns and fern allies. Our first ferns were common ones of the area. Sometimes they were snatched from destruction by bulldozer and backhoe. Sometimes they were carefully selected from abundant patches in woodland areas. At all times they were lifted with soil on the roots and planted in holes well supplied with leaf mold. The second spring we watched Royal fern, Osmunda regalis, Interrupted fern, Osmunda claytoniana, Cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamomea, Lady fern, Athyrium asplenioides, Christmas 63