A few years ago we hiked the 268-mile (but who’s counting?) Pennine Way in England, sharing part of the trail with a fellow named Jack, who was walking the 1,215-mile End to End Trail from the bottom of England to the top of Scotland. After every rainy, windy day of picking our way through squelchy bog, Jack would join us for dinner looking like he had just walked off his yacht. Pressed shirt, crisp chinos, clean shoes, and not a hair out of place—how did he do it? Needless to say, we suffered in comparison.

In our garden, we refer to Asian saber fern as “Jack,” whose attributes never flag during long stretches of summer dryness or wet winter snow. Jack’s effortless perfection of presentation is a tidy asset in the garden, although we have caught neighboring ferns muttering the occasional unkindness.

Who can blame them? Shiny, darkly jade evergreen fronds have bipinnate pinnae (individual leaflets divided into smaller leaflets) that are ranked along a contrasting, shaggy, rich brown stipe or stem. The plant can get up to 30 inches tall, although smaller forms are sometimes available.

This is a wide-ranging species from the Himalaya into Tibet, China, Japan, and Taiwan. With such a broad geographic dispersal, it is logical to find some variation. We’ve seen it in its natural habitat on various trips, with perhaps the best ones being in Hubei, where the plants were compact and especially dark green.

Jack—or rather, Asian saber fern—is best planted in full to light shade or even a little morning sun. It is pretty drought tolerant once established but shows best vigor when given that good, moisture-retentive garden soil we all like. Because it is such a star in the garden, why stop at one if you can have a grouping to ratchet up the impact?

One of our favorite design techniques in our collector’s garden composed of drifts of one is to use a stellar all-season plant like this as a unifier to tie together disparate plantings. We might plant one along the path entrance, another one off on the far edge, and then a grouping of three before the skirt of a large rhododendron (Rhododendron spp. and cvs., Zones 3–11). We find this trick provides a repeating familiarity that helps cool one’s processing chip in our garden of unfamiliar plants, but it works equally well as a strong design element in any suitable shade bed.

Asian saber fern

Polystichum neolobatum

Zones: 5–8

Conditions: Partial to full shade; moist to dry, well-drained soil

Native range: Asia

Kelly Dodson and Sue Milliken grow some of the coolest plants on the planet at Far Reaches Farm Nursery and Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy in Port Townsend, Washington.

Sources

• Far Reaches Farm, Port Townsend, WA; 360-385-5114; farreachesfarm.com
• Gossler Farms Nursery, Springfield, OR; 541-746-3922; gosslerfarms.com

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

Organo Republic 16 Perennial Wildflower Seeds Mix for Indoor & Outdoors

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Premium 16 Perennial Wildflower Seeds Mix - Special Garden Flower Seeds Blend designed for planting indoor & outdoors across North America. With over 16 varieties and 100,000 wildflower seeds, this mix is the best solution to attract pollinators - bees, butterflies & birds are essential for garden plants health. Our Special Perennial Wildflower Seeds Mix Includes White Yarrow, Columbine, New England Aster, Siberian Wallflower, Shasta Daisy, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis, Sweet William, Purple Coneflower, Blanketflower, Gayfeather, Blue Flax, Lupine, Dwarf Evening, Primrose, Mexican Hat, Prairie Coneflower, Black Eyed Susan. Easy & Fun Growing Experience with our online guides - Don’t plant disappointment - Add more colors to your wildflower garden! We send only super hearty heirloom flower seeds with the highest germination rate and fast sprout. Our detailed growing guide helps you grow seeds the garden of your dream like a PRO. Colorful Wildflower Garden from Seeds - Grow wildflowers everywhere - Indoor in window garden or Outdoors Flower garden Garden make a beautiful design for your garden borders, pathways, field or meadow and attract pollinators. Made in the USA by Small Family-Owned Business - Quality You Can Trust - Our wildflower bulk seeds variety pack are tested at the highest germination rates before being sealed to last for up to 3 years before you need to plant. Each packet of our flower seeds variety pack is resealable to make it easy to store and has its own label with a QR code for the growing instructions.

Buy at Amazon

Corona E-Grip Trowel

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Handle Material: Aluminum. Handle Length: 14-1/2 in. Overall Length: 14.5 in. Head Material: Aluminum. Handle Color: Red.

Buy at Amazon

Corona® Multi-Purpose Metal Mini Garden Shovel

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Longer Service Life: The blade of this round small shovel is made of carbon steel, which can effectively improve the hardness by high temperature quenching, and the surface has anti-rust coating to avoid rusting. In the process of use when encountering hard objects will not bend and deformation. Sturdy Structure: The small garden shovel with D-handle, ergonomically designed grip can increase the grip of the hand when using, the handle is made of strong fiberglass, will not bend and break under heavy pressure. Quick Digging: Well-made digging shovel has a sharp blade, and the round shovel head is designed to easily penetrate the soil and cut quickly while digging to enhance your work efficiency.

Buy at Amazon