By Jim McCausland, Sunset senior garden writer
Ferns, I've often thought, give an excellent sampling of what God can do with a leaf. To see and buy these beauties for your own garden, stop by Judith Jones' Fronderosa Frolic this weekend (August 9 and 10, 10 to 3) at Fancy Fronds Nursery, 40830 172nd St. SE, Gold Bar, Washington, 360 793-1472. Judith will be there with a cast of thousands of ferns and other plants from her own and more than 15 other nurseries, including many of the Northwest's best growers.
Look for plant luminaries such as Jerry Addington of Courting Frogs Nursery in Stanwood (maybe the top carnivorous plant guy in the US), Bob Zimmerman of Chimacum Woods (species Rhododendrons genius), Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery (king of zonal denial), Pamela Harlow of Botanica, Fred and Leonard of Dancing Oaks Nursery, and Kelly Dodson and Sue Milliken of Far Reaches Farm in Pt. Townsend.
The fern fronds shown in the photograph above, by the way, are (from top left) Dryopteris erythrosora, Cyrtomium fortunei, Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum', Athyrium filix-femina, Athyrium filix-femina 'Frizellliae', Polystichum polyblepharum, Athyrium 'Dre's Dagger', and Asplenium scolopendrium.
