Free Container Plants

Posted by Jamie McIntosh May 5, 2008

This is the time of year I can assess where my garden is going, and where it has been. If any plants didn’t make it through our harsh winter, I can see a blank spot in my garden. If any plants are threatening a garden coup, now is the time to divide them or transplant them to other parts of the yard.

I have a small woodland garden, and about 10 years ago, I purchased a few ostrich ferns to lend their lacy foliage as a foil to the magenta azalea blossoms. This spring, I watched their fiddleheads sprouting willy-nilly, until it appeared that my woodland garden was to be a homogenous stand of ostrich ferns.

I went out with my trowel and a bucket, and began digging out the exuberant fronds and their underground stolons and rhizomes. The future site of my next woodland garden is currently a stomping ground for 3 boys and 2 large dogs, so I viewed these extra plants as one step removed from a weed.

Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to toss these earnest new ferns into the compost bin. Didn’t I see ostrich ferns going for 15 dollars a pot at the nursery the other week? Suddenly, inspiration struck: These graceful plants, already nearing 18 inches tall, would look fantastic potted up on my deck. Eureka! I had just the pot, and now it’s brimming with mature ferns, at no cost. I’ll have until October to find a permanent home for them, or perhaps a friend who needs some ferns for her garden.