Athyrium filix-femina (6 × 9cm pots)

A delicate, graceful fern. Position: full or partial shade Soil: moist, fertile, neutral to acid soil Rate of growth: average Hardiness: fully hardy This is the lady fern, with graceful, bright green, filigree-like leaves. One of our recommended plants, it looks great planted in bold swathes with other shade-loving plants in a sheltered, shady woodland edge, shrub or mixed border. It is deciduous, and begins to look tatty in the autumn, so try it among evergreen ferns or late-flowering perennials. Garden care: Incorporate lots of well-rotted leaf mould, composted pine needles or garden compost into the planting hole. In cold areas in late autumn protect the crown of the plant with a dry mulch of straw or bracken.