6. Ferns
These beautiful foliage plants offer delicate leaf patterns and fresh green fronds, with the added advantage of tolerating shade. But some can stand the bright sun, and not all need soggy places to live, so can survive happily in a container.
The buckler ferns (Dryopteris spp) are at home in woodland, which means that they will tolerate dry soils. Most require some shade, but the male fern (Dyropteris filix-mas) will survive the sunshine, so is a versatile plant that can be found a place in most gardens.
Lady ferns (Athyrium filix-femina and its varieties) are also amenable to some sun, but really prefer moist roots, so would be good for a bog garden.
The shuttlecock fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) is another which must have its roots in damp soil and prefers some shade.
If you have a large enough garden, the distinctive royal fern (Osmunda regalis) is the one to plant. This is one of the so-called flowering ferns with two types of frond; one is leafy and the other bears spores. The royal fern makes a 2m high and wide clump when grown in ideal conditions of boggy soil. And despite its exotic appearance, this statuesque plant is British and can stand up to the worst of winters.
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