WHAT: Sword fern, Polystichum munitum, is one of our most useful native ferns and a staple in the Northwest garden. Sword fern is evergreen and forms a shapely, arching mound. WHY PLANT IT: It is ...

Delicate as lace, or seemingly tough as leather, ferns can be found in climates ranging from rain forest to tundra. It's no wonder that they find their way to so many Pacific Northwest gardens.

Eilís O'Neill / KUOW/EarthFix Ellie and Emma are toddlers. They spend a lot of time with their dad Tim Billo in Seward Park, a fragment of old-growth forest on the edge of Lake Washington. Billo’s a ...

A handful of plants define the western Washington flora. They are both common and frequently encountered in even the most minimally transient contact with local nature. Douglas-fir, salal, western ...

IS THERE a more useful plant than evergreen ferns? They’re the stalwarts of the winter garden. Slugs are munching on the tiny iris that are just starting to bloom, and camellia blossoms brown out with ...

LIKE MOST SCIENTIFIC mysteries, the case of the vanishing ferns started with a keen-eyed observer. Catherine Alexander has been walking in Seattle’s Seward Park almost every day for more than 15 years ...

M.B.: Sounds like a natural to me. Our native sword ferns are easygoing and not easily upset. Minor or woodland bulbs that tolerate the shade are better choices than traditional tall tulips or ...

Of the many pretty ferns we can grow in our gardens here, one of the nicest ones we can plant is a native one that grows here already. The western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) grows throughout the ...

SEATTLE — There's a reason that ferns have been growing in popularity over the last few years. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors, require minimum care and have practically no ...

INDIANOLA — The barren patch of ground stood out in the midst of the lush forest understory. All around, sword ferns crowded between tree trunks forming dense thickets of greenery, but in this spot, ...