The Wood Ferns are beginning to stretch open, reaching their blue-green fists to the sky as if they are making a stand for Fern Power.  Maybe I should be using another common name for this fern: “Spiny” Wood Fern.  I dropped that because the name frightened people, and there is nothing spiny about it, as far as I can tell.  Maybe its attitude.  “Fern Power!”

 The Wood Fern (Dryopteris expansa) grows big, as big as a Sword Fern, and tolerates fairly dry shade.  It is easy to confuse with the Lady Fern, but it tends to be a deeper, bluer green, and the fronds are triangular, with no frondlets on the lower part of the stem.  It also stays green through most of the winter.  It grows in a clump like Lady and Sword Ferns.  In the forest, you often see it beside Sword Ferns, though perhaps up on a rotting log where it won’t be out-competed by the Sword Fern.  Vine Maple, Western Hemlock, Salal and Cascade Oregon Grape are other companion plants.

 Fern Power.  Ponder the power of a fern, or a forest of ferns and their friends. The calm that settles over your soul when you put yourself in their power soothes and strengthens.  The Wood Ferns unfold their fists and open themselves to light and breeze.

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It’s beginning to look like Spring.   Many of our plants are waking up after winter.  The fern fronds are starting to poke their heads up, and the Fringecup is lush-looking.  The Chorus Frog eggs in the kiddy pool are waiting to hatch, though in the evening the frogs are still calling, so the Tadpole Haven Dating Service is still active.

 At Tadpole Haven this week, we are gearing up for THIS Saturday, April 3.  We are bringing our plants to the Seattle Audubon Society Spring Plant Sale, 10-4, 8050 35th Ave. N.E., Seattle.  See you there! 

 Our next Open Day at the nursery is Saturday, April 10.

 Did you hear yesterday’s “Weekday” on 94.9 KUOW?  The program featured Heidi Bohan, speaking about edible native plants.  Heidi will lead a Tadpole Teach-in on April 25 at Tadpole Haven.  To listen to yesterday’s radio program, click here.

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Our Open Day on Saturday, March 20, was a rip-roaring success!  Lots of people came to look at plants and attend the Tadpole Teach-in.  By the end of the seminar, presenter Brian Bodenbach and the rest of the group had bonded into family, learning about the needs and habits of various wild critters.  They studied the Chorus Frog eggs in the nursery’s kiddy pools and walked down to the lakeshore to check out Northwestern Salamander eggs.  They also found Caddisfly and Dragonfly larva and three salmonid fry (2 Cuththroat and 1 Coho, we think).  In the picture, a student holds a newly-laid Chorus Frog egg clutch in the white scoop (see the black dots?).  Pictures courtesy of Janet Way.

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Tadpole Haven Native Plants, a nursery normally open only by appointment, will host several Open Days this spring.  The nursery will be open to drop-in visitors on Open Days.  The next Open Day is Saturday, April 10, from 10-4.  A complete schedule of upcoming Open Days and Teach-Ins is posted online along with directions.  Information is available over the phone at 425-788-6100.

 Tadpole Haven carries more than 90 species of plants native to Western Washington and the Northwest.  Many of these, such as Wood Fern (Dryopteris expansa) and Western Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) are often difficult to find in general retail nurseries.  This small nursery on Paradise Lake Road prides itself on its ecologically sound practices, using organic mulch to improve the soil in the nursery and avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides. 

“People plant natives to help the environment.  I wouldn’t grow native plants unless I could produce them in a way that also protects and helps the local ecosystem,” said owner Shirley Doolittle-Egerdahl.  The calls of Pacific Chorus Frogs, which lay eggs in the nursery’s kiddy pools, vouch for that statement.

 Puget Sound-area native plants give the locality its character and beauty. Every native tree, shrub or perennial planted enhances that regional character.  But there are many reasons to plant native plants in individual yards or local parks.  Native plants and animals have, over the ages, evolved symbiotic relationships.  Gardeners provide shelter and food for birds and other native creatures when they plant natives in their yard. 

Protecting and conserving water are major reasons to incorporate native plants into local landscapes.  Since our native plants are used to our climate, they need little or no summer watering.  That can really cut down on the water bill.  And adopting a gardening style that allows natives to fill garden spaces combats pollution effectively.  Native plants keep excess rainwater and contaminated, overly-warm runoff from getting into streams and ultimately into larger bodies of water.  Foliage traps and holds a surprisingly large amount of rainwater, dramatically slowing it and preventing erosion and runoff.  Roots capture rainwater and send it percolating through the cool earth, cleansing it and keeping local waters cool for fish and other water creatures. 

 Of course, many non-native garden plants can provide some of these practical functions as well, though they are not as care-free. Most ornamentals need much more water than native plants in the summer, and many suffer during our wet winters, setting them up for health problems.  Natives are easy to keep healthy, requiring no pesticides.  Teamed with natural companion plants, native plants efficiently work together to support a healthy environment for all living things.

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