Projects Using Ferns

Author and gardening expert Marianne Binetti shows how to make a fern house and how to decorate with an inked palm frond.

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Filed under: Stamping, Foliage Plants, Plants, Crafts

A beautiful fern house creates just the right environment for growing ferns with glass walls that hold in and recirculate moisture.

Horticulturist Marianne Binetti shares some terrific ideas for decorating with ferns. She demonstrates how to create a charming fern house, which provides the moist environment ferns love, and how to use fern leaves as a stamp to adorn a variety of items.

Fern House

Steps:

Start with a glass container, maybe an old fishbowl or aquarium, or a large footed container like an oversize snifter.
Arrange a layer of small pebbles on the bottom for drainage, then add potting soil, preferably some with perlite, which holds moisture and helps with drainage. Arrange more soil in the back of the arrangement than in the front, since there should be a front and back.

When purchasing ferns for your fern house, look for table ferns (Pteris) that are very small. If you can’t find a small enough fern for your container, it's easy to create one by separating the roots of a larger fern and pulling out the smaller shoots. Don’t worry if you break some fronds. Another nice fern to use for this arrangement is the maidenhair fern (Adiantum), which adds a different texture.

Arrange the ferns in the pot with the larger ferns in back.

Place moss around the arrangement after the ferns are in place. Locate it close to the glass and it will keep dirt off the glass.

If you like, arrange a miniature watering can (available in craft stores and stores where they sell dollhouse miniatures) toward the front of the arrangement. For added height, glue it to a tiny terra-cotta pot first. You can also arrange river rocks around the base of the plants.

Mist the plant thoroughly, spraying the glass sides to remove any dirt lodged there during the potting.

Mist plants regularly to maintain. Don't add water if you see any moisture clinging to the side of the container.

When the fronds grow above the top of the container, clip them back.

Fern Stamps

Create beautiful projects with a natural theme using a fern frond as a stamp. Fronds from a Boston fern (Nephrolepis) are perfect for this project. Try adding an image to the side of pots in which you have planted ferns, to gardening gloves, or notepaper and note cards. Different colored inks, particularly metallics, can create striking images.

Steps: