PERSONAL SHOPPER: Find Ferns at Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center

Editor’s note: With this article we start PERSONAL SHOPPER, a new feature for our BUSINESS MONDAY! relay a message. Once a month, author and shopper exceptional Harriet Ziefert will share an up close and personal exploration of items of special interest available at local retail outlets.

“Unable to escape our age-old hunger to live close to nature, we surround the house with lawns and gardens, put in picture windows, adopt pets and Boston ferns, and smell everything that touches our lives.” Diane Ackerman, American poet and naturalist

I moved to the Berkshires 18 months ago and have done all of the above…except the pet! I improved the foundation planting. I cleared the scrub and planted perennial ferns under the pines. I bought several large Boston ferns and hung them from the porch rafters. I removed the undergrowth from the old farm wall so that I wouldn’t be distracted when looking at the mountains from my (already installed) picture windows. I bought a honeysuckle plant to add scent to the front entrance.

I also found an antique carpenter’s bench (at Moderne in Hudson) and added it to the front porch so I could put specimen plants on the countertop. Right now I’m looking at a selection of unusual begonias to bring indoors for the winter months.

When I finished unpacking my things, I was greeted by a depressing sight: dozens of interesting containers… all empty! There were boxes, baskets, bowls, vases, and buckets made of wood, cork, clay, metal, glass, and porcelain that were acquired throughout life. What to do?

Of course I had to find plants to fill the containers. Not only would the containers look complete, but so would my newly acquired house.

I have already said that I am against pets. But plants make excellent company.

I’ve never been constrained by the idea that houseplants belong in traditional clay pots…for me, the opposite is true.

Each vessel can hold a plant, large or small. Bowls of all shapes and sizes, cookware, and even mugs work well for gardening. Pieces of reed, volcanic rock, driftwood – I use everything as planters.

In a recent children’s book of mine Is your head a box for your brain?I write:

A half-empty chest says: More in!
A full box says: You need another bin!

Luckily, the solution to my “empty bin problem” at Ward’s Nursery was only minutes away. I have since learned that Don Ward founded Ward’s Nursery and Garden Center in 1957 with his business partner and friend Matt Tomich. He passed it on to his sons in the late ’90s, and now in its 64th year, the third generation is at Helm.

On my first trip there I met Eva Ward, Don’s granddaughter. She manages the indoor greenhouse and is my contact person for indoor plants.

I started in the fern corner, which is large, and was immediately drawn to newly arrived maidenhair ferns. I chose one and set myself a challenge: Can I keep this fern alive longer than my last one… longer than a month?

When I asked Eva about her experience with maidenhair ferns, she admitted it was difficult, but obviously worth the effort. She agreed to spray the fern regularly with distilled water. Or take a quick shower. The problem: Sometimes I forget and the fern expresses its displeasure by shrinking at the tips of the fronds.

Ferns are unique plants. They grow from spores, not seeds. They have fronds, not leaves. Their penchant for humid air makes them perfect for bathrooms or kitchens. And they have wonderful names: Stag Horn, Lemon Button, Kangaroo Foot, Crocodile, Rabbit Foot, Bird’s Nest, Sprenger Asparagus, Japanese Painter, Velociraptor Band, Jurassic Stegosaurus Holly. If anyone knows why there is an abundance of animal references in naming ferns, please let us know.

Currently on the greenhouse tables at Ward’s are the following varieties: Maidenhair, Ribwort, Blue Star, Boston Fern, Mother Fern, Kimberly Fern, Staghorn, Bird’s Nest, Hare’s Foot and Silverfly.

Eva shares the following about Ward’s staff favorites:

• Mother Fern (Asplenium bulbiferum) Also known as chicken and chicken fern, this beauty has a feathery appearance but won’t manhandle you like Maidenhair (Adiantum fragrans). Upon closer inspection, you’ll see that it actually has fairly thick and almost waxy fronds. This allows it to forgive you if you miss a watering session.
• Blue Star (Phlebodium aureum) This stocky fern with its stunning chalky blue leaves can take a very wide range of light requirements. Although it does best in a bright room, it can be drawn away from the window and grow more slowly in less direct light. Mine always spends his summer holidays outside in a shady spot. There it pumps new fronds at an immense speed! When it’s time to go back indoors in the fall and winter I have this lovely, hardy plant. Inside, it will no longer produce new fronds at the same rate; However, she holds the fronds she has formed in the summer quite well.
• Staghorn Fern (Platycerium) This genus has many popular species, with Bifurcatum (common staghorn) being one of the most common. These almost otherworldly looking ferns make a real statement.

For those looking for a challenge, these ferns are happy to be mounted on an interesting piece of wood or planted in a wire basket lined with peat moss. And even if you’re not looking for a challenge, the decision to pot your fern in a non-traditional way comes with a learning curve that pays off immediately visually!

My current children’s book ends with the question: If a bird house is a box for birds, is your brain a box for words?

And now I ask you: If an ant farm is a box for ants, is a greenhouse a box for plants?

The 3,000 square foot greenhouse at Ward’s is a fascinating space with a wide variety of houseplants – from succulents and air plants to orchids and begonias. Plants come mostly from local growers in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.