Treachery in the fernery

Welcome to my little fernery. I've been working in the garden today because it's a magnificent day.

Here are some little fern sperm. OK, they're really spores, but you must admit that fern sperm is really fun to say.



This is the base of one of the ferns. It's a rhizome and it hates to be covered up with soil. There's a little green fiddlehead emerging. Supposedly, they're OK to eat--the Scottish do it--but then they eat Haggis, too. (Haggis is really pretty tasty, it's just the thought of it that's not.)



I have a few hostas, an astilbe, a calla lily, and some chameleon plants growing in this same section.



Below is a picture of the little flower the grows on the chameleon plant.



And they have very pretty leaves with red edges.



But the stars of this little garden are my ferns.



Something else grows here. The other day I was pulling some weeds in this garden when I came across some poison ivy. I wasn't wearing gloves and quickly washed my hands three times with cold water and Dawn detergent. Today I came across a few more baby plants of the stuff but I had my gloves on this time. And then, in the midst of typing this blog, I looked down at my hand as I reached for the mouse, and look what I found--a blister. I think it's the poison ivy I brushed up against the other day. Oh me, oh my, what treachery lurks in my pretty little fern garden.