Athyrium filix-femina

Athyrium filix-femina is the lady fern, a native British fern that you’ll spot along shaded stream banks and in damp woodlands. The fronds are finely and doubly divided, a fresh bright green, and held in upright to arching shuttlecocks from a short crown.

It grows around 60 to 90cm tall and forms a steadily expanding clump. Deciduous, so the fronds die down with the first frosts and a fresh flush comes through each spring.

Plant in humus-rich, moist soil in partial to full shade. It won’t tolerate dry conditions, so pick a spot where it won’t sit parched in summer. Trim any tired fronds off at the base in late winter.

A lovely ferny presence for a woodland garden, a shady border, or alongside hostas, hellebores and astilbes in a damp shade scheme.