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It’s native fern week! It’s been a while since we’ve explored some of the diverse and fascinating fern species that we have in abundance here at the Nursery, so this week we’re paying homage to these prehistoric plants and their often unseen and underappreciated attributes. Through a brief journey into the physiological, ecological, cultural and historical uses of these North American native ferns, we hope to leave you loving them as much as we do!
The last week has brought a fresh flush of flowers and foliage around the entire Nursery. Color is becoming abundant from corner to corner, blanketing the property in yellows, purples, pinks, creamy and bright whites, and verdant greens. Amongst these harbingers of Spring, the well-loved Bleeding Hearts are making their appearance – both in the landscape as well as in production here on the farm. Being as this is a beloved ornamental and well known to plant aficionados and amateurs alike, we’re gonna keep it pretty straight forward this week and let the beauty of the plants speak for themselves through photographs. (Don’t worry, we’ll give you some fun plant facts along the way, too.)
Huddled together in the shade of the early morning, our collection of Epimedium greets the cool air with its upright, misty sprays of spidery looking flowers. This somewhat diminutive, slow-spreading groundcover is a plant collector’s dream. Under the Epimedium umbrella exists approximately 58 species, with the heart or arrow shaped leaves and ghostly blooms presenting themselves in an array of colors, shapes, and sizes. One could enthusiastically collect Epimedium varieties over the course of a lifetime and fill a shade garden with an impressive assemblage. Our ever-expanding selection of Epimedium here at the Nursery is simply the tip of the Epimedium iceberg.
This week, we’re enthusiastically promoting our crop of Mertensia virginica, which, as you read this, is slowly peaking its pink-and-periwinkle blooms above its velvety blue-green foliage. If you’ve been sleeping on this lovely little early spring-blooming perennial, now’s the time to familiarize yourself with it.
This week, we’re going to explore the cultural, ecological, and societal uses of a plant as old as time itself – lungwort, botanically known as the genus Pulmonaria. So, take a deep breath and let us dive in.
