Friday, June 27, 2014

Fern Frenzy

The Spring and Summer are really heating up around Huck Hollow, and I don't mean the weather!  It has been a slow warming trend in my part of the Pacific Northwest, a teaser sunny day here and there in the low to mid 70's, nothing like our unusually hot May where we were hitting mid 80's.
Such is life here though, and we just have to roll with it.  The lush plant life is hardy here, toughing out all kinds of weather.  Gardening is tricky though.

I have five (yes 5!) blog posts to get out to you over the coming weeks.  I have been crazy busy around here with outdoor projects.  To start off the show, I have been studying ferns.  I know, a little late for this northwest native, and I have been taking them for granted all these years.

I have several types of interesting ferns here at my Huck Hollow, and I work with several more at a clients vacation home nearby.



This is the Ostrich fern, the tall one in the back. (In the front is a deer fern). It has the most unusual way of coming out in Spring.  This one is taken in my yard, but the following images are taken from the cabin.  





These are early, early Spring, probably March actually.  They have the most uncanny way of uncurling out and up.  They continue to do this throughout the summer!



These are Harte's Tongue.  Apparently there are several sub species of these, but I'm going to generalize here as I am not a botanist.  These are deciduous as well, to some degree, as I have to cut back the old ones each year.



These freaky little guys are my favorite.  The book has several sub species with long names, but I think the general term is a Cristata.  They remind me of a caterpillar or a centipede, as they uncurl outward, looking like a million tiny legs.

So this is my contribution to the fern world.  I never knew there were so many ferns!!!  Many of whom live right here in my neck of the woods. 

Stay tuned, next week I have a project post for a bamboo screen privacy fence.

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