There are many ferns native to our Illinois gardens, all ready to add textural contrast for bold-foliaged perennials or linear sedges. Adiantum pedatum, commonly called Northern maidenhair fern ...

The marginal fern (Dryopteris marginalis) has heights 1-3’, spread from 1.5-2’, has greyish-green, deeply cut leathery fronds, prefers moist wooded or clearing type habitat.

For example, moist habitat ferns are the Massachusetts, Crested Wood or Cinnamon type. One may observe the Rusty Woodsia, Spleenwort or Marginal fern in rocky habitats.

On a beautiful Saturday morning in early June, I volunteered at Wilson’s Farm in Brighton Township for an environmental field study to learn the language of ferns. Though I often noticed copious ...