Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
iddy biddy fern lookin' thing
In article , "Travis"
wrote: Valkyrie wrote: As I was working out on my balcony today I thought of the perfect plant to put in the pot with my witch hazel. I just can't remember what it's called. I had it growing in Seattle between the broken concrete pavers of my patio. It looks like a tiny delicate Boston fern (sort of), spreads by runners, stays very small and flat, it's a great ground cover, very hardy and tough as nails. Anybody know what it's called so I can go find some. The first time I saw this was in the Japanese garden in Portland, I got the name from the gardener there. Now I can not for the life of me remember what it was. Getting old is hell :-( Val A couple of things come to mind, Val. There is a true groundcover fern, Blechnum penne-marina, which is a great but hard to find plant. Evergreen miniature fern-like foliage held very close to the ground, spreads by underground runners to form colonies. The second possibility is Cotula squalida (sometimes called Leptinella squalida, N.Z. brass buttons) which is an excellent, heavy-duty and durable groundcover with a very fern-like appearance. Both will get a bronzey-copper shade in winter. Either of these sound familiar? The Leptinella squalida is in the 2003 Heronswood Nursery catalog with a picture. Leptinella squalida z4 d2" $6.00 Category: perennials ( Cotula southeyi) From a genus that is solely Southern Hemispheran comes this delightful species that produces a spreading low mat of grayish green felted pinnate foliage and curious buttons of yellow in early spring. This has been used as a lawn alternative by some, though we grow it in our garden between pavers on the north side of the house. Asteraceae New Zealand I have both Blechnum penne-marina, & Cotula (Leptinella) squalida. The B. penne-marina is slow-spreading tremendously beautiful & hardy evergreen fern. Mine spread enough that I divided it once, but it would take forever to become a groundcover. C. squalida is sold as "Brass Buttons" because it has teency yellow-green button-flowers. Its chief trait is it looks like an ultra-miniature fern. There's a "black" form which I think looks dead & ugly but which has lately been the only one I've seen offered in flats & in small pots. The green form is prettier. It spreads aggressively with runners over the surface or just underground & when it is its bushiest at one inch height it is very pretty. In some zones it is apparently evergreen, but in my shade garden it dies back in winter, returning reliably in spring, but it does not very effectively keep plants or weeds from moving into its territory. I like Brass Buttons but it's nothin' compared to the glorious miniature true fern B. penne-marina. However, a pot of B. penne-marina can be bloody expensive, more than a whole flat of Brass Buttons. -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Bluebird lookin' for grub in my garden | Garden Photos | |||
Sally lookin' for her friends | Garden Photos | |||
"Lookin for Luuuv! in..." Opps! I meant plants! :-) | Ponds (moderated) | |||
Lookin 4 a potassium buy on the wrong side of town | Gardening | |||
repost; URGENTt!!Fern People!!! can someone save my fern?? | Australia |