Ferns are a great choice if you’re looking for plants for dry shade. In this clip from Gardeners’ World, Monty Don plants the soft shield fern, Polystichum setiferum and the scaly male fern, Dryopteris affinis ‘Cristata The King’ in his woodland garden. Then, in his Dry Garden, which has very poor soil, he plants the common polypody, Polypodium vulgare, with the crispy hart’s tongue fern Asplenium scolopendrium ‘Marginatum’. Although ferns are fairly drought tolerant, they do need some water so Monty offers tips on maintaining optimum moisture levels in the first year after planting. Watch now, to discover how to grow ferns in dry shade.
How to grow ferns in dry shade
Monty Don reveals his top tips for planting ferns in dry shade, with advice on which species to choose.
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Colourful feathery flowers are carried above deeply cut textured foliage, this hardy perennial is great for bulking out borders with tactile eye-catching colour. They're happiest grown in moisture-retentive rich soils.
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Flowering from late summer to mid-autumn, vibrant rudbeckias are especially suited to prairie-style borders and combine particularly well with border perennials.
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