Sensitive Ferns

We have some more hard working plants at Holy Comforter.

There was a bare patch of ground between the upper and lower parking lots:

And so we planted some ferns:

You might just be able to make out a few sad-looking twigs. The plants are called Sensitive, because they go into dormancy with the first frost. So they have finished with their green leaves for the year.

And just what are these hard working plants going to do?

They are going to try their best to prevent any more soil erosion. The level of the ground is much lower than the level of the parking lot. I’m guessing that’s because some ground has already washed away. The ferns are going to spread out their roots and hold the soil in place.

And they’re going to multiply. Ferns are primitive life-forms, so they reproduce by spores, not seeds. Those are the reproductive structures that look like a cluster of beads. (Hence the common name of Bead Fern.) And just in case that doesn’t work out for them, they’ll send out shoots, and multiply that way.

They should form an attractive ground cover, meaning that we won’t have to worry that the grass can’t grow in such dense shade. And that means there’ll be slightly less mowing work to be done.

They support the development of a kind of owlet moth. So perhaps the birds will get some caterpillars to eat.

And, they’ll add to the biodiversity on Holy Comforter property. I can’t remember seeing any other ferns here. Can you?

And, get this, like most ferns they tend to be deer resistant.

Will they survive in their new location? I don’t know – we’ll have to wait for spring to find out if they send up those lovely curled fiddleheads.