GARDEN NOTES.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 3, 4 January 1901, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES.

FERNS

This is the season of the year for picnics, and, alas, for the destruction of ferns and native bush. The ferns are not only wilfully destroyed, but people with the best intentions are responsible for the destruction of many beautiful ferns. Almost every picnic party returning from the bush brings a basket of ferns to try and make them grow.” Perhaps a few lines on how to make them grow would not be out of place. Provide yoursell with a strong basket and several pieces of sacking to wrap round the roots of the larger specimens. In lifting ferns use a small fork ; it does not injure the roots like a spade. The majority of people when fern gathering select from the bed ol a creek the largest and most delicate ferns they can find. jThis is the first and most serious mistake, as a fern growing in a cool place in the bed of the creek is extra delicate, and invariably fades away when lifted. Rather select ferns growing on an open hillside or in as exposed a place as you can find them. They are hardier than the ferns of the creek bed ; they have better roots and transplant more easily. Having filled your basket, before leaving the bush dip your basket into a pool of water. It helps to keep it cool on the homeward journey. As soon as you get your ferns home lose no time in getting them planted, for when the roots are exposed they soon die. To grow ferns successfully in a cool, room, use a willow basket lined with moss. If grown in a pot be carelul to put plenty of “drainage.” Shells,-broken pots, charcoal, etc., are the most suitable for the bottom of the pot. A fern cannot live long in a pot or dish that has no hole in it. Ferns grow best in bush soil, that is leaf mould, but any rich soil will do, provided it is well drained. Make the soil in the pots very firm ; tr.eir roots do not grow well in a loose soil. Ferns require plenty of shade and plenty of moisture. Provided you have good drainage you cannot give them too much water. Do not water them when the sun is shining on them ; they are liable to get burnt. Ferns grow well in any shady corner, but the most suitable house is a fernery, made of pungas (fern trees) or of manuka scrub.