Ferns of the Miller Garden

On Wednesday I shared the first half of my photos from my September visit to the Miller Garden in Seattle, today I'm sharing the ferny ones...

We were gathered for a tour—of the garden's many ferns—led by Emily Joseph, Nursery Manager for the Hardy Fern Foundation (on the far left below), and Del Brummet, Head Gardener at the Miller (middle below). Also in the photo are Richie Steffen, Executive Director of the Miller Garden (white shirt) and Bonnie Berk, President of the HFF (on the far right, in the baseball cap).

Del had compiled a list that hit the highlights of the garden's collection. If we'd stopped to talk about every fern we'd have been there all day (not that I'd have had any issue with that)..

On the patio alone there were so many pyrrosia! 

 Aspidotis densa, dense lace fern (in the trough, up against the rocks).

Bommeria hispida, a favorite fern of mine, and just about everyone who sees it.

Another trough, with an exuberant planting, and of course more ferns.

Fern tables!

Here Del is pointing out Woodwardia fimbriata, known by the common name giant chain fern.

I don't think these were on the list, but I believe they're Polypodium glycyrrhiza, Licorice fern.

When people hear me talk excitedly about ferns, and then give me a "really? why?" look I think this (or something like it) is what they're picturing. But there are so many different kinds of ferns! Not that there's anything wrong with this one, Polystichum munitum x Polystichum andersonii...

Polystichum setiferum ‘Bevis’

The Miller Garden is the first place I saw this fern, Blechnum (Parablechnum) novae-zelandiae—I instantly fell in love. I finally added it to my garden last year and somehow the population has now exploded to six of them!

This visit was my first sighting of the fertile fronds. Wow...

Here Del is showing of a frond of Woodwardia unigemmata, the jeweled chain fern.

The Miller Garden was also the first place I saw (and drooled over) this fern, I now have several of these too.

Adiantum x tracyi (middle)

Dryopteris erythrosora, the autumn fern

So called for the rich tones of the new fronds.

Athyrium 'Ursula's Dwarf', South Carolina plantswoman, Ursula Syre-Herz discovered this dwarf hybrid of Japanese painted fern and Southern lady fern in her garden.

Part of our group tip-toeing through the moss...

We learned there were ferns planted here at one time (I don't recall which species), but they disappeared and the moss took over.

Blechnum  hastatum, upper left.

Anisocampium cuspidatum, which we learned happily grows in a great deal of sun.

Those are Anisocampium cuspidatum fronds in the middle/right of this photo.

Not on our list, but must be admired (again), Dicksonia antarctica, the soft tree fern, Tasmanian tree fern.

Woodwardia unigemmata 'Undulata'

Polystichum setiferum ‘Plumosum Densum’ (I think, not on our list, but too beautiful to ignore).

Dryopteris namegatae, completely new to me.

Close-ups...

Blechnum (Parablechnum) montanum

When we stopped at the nursery section of the garden Emily gave a short fern propagation talk.

She had a couple really nice Anisocampium cuspidatum to show off, but my eyes were drawn to that big beauty on the right...

Blechnum palmiforme, aka Lomariocycas palmiformis.

It's so hot!

They have little spore babies growing on at the garden.

Blechnum chilense, Chilean hard fern.

There are a few notable ferns in this photo...

This adorable little guy is Asplenium ceterach.

And the upright fronts to the right of the green mound are Cheilanthes tomentosa.

Pleopeltis lepidopteris 'Morro dos Conventos' (Brazilian Hairy Sword Fern)

So fuzzy!

I'll wrap up this fern report with another image of Blechnum palmiforme, aka Lomariocycas palmiformis...it kind of makes me think of a shaggy cycad.

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My Miller Garden visit, there were a lot of containers!

A visit to the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle is always a highly sought after ticket, my visit on September 18th was just my third, the others were in 2013, and 2022. A tour of the garden's ferns (organized through the Hardy Fern Foundation) was the reason for the trip. In the next post I'll share those ferns, but today's post covers the other things I saw, although I can't promise there won't be a fern or two...

Our group gathered in the house (Pendleton and Elisabeth Miller's home, which now serves as office space for the garden staff and the Great Plant Picks program). We enjoyed coffee and refreshments (as well as bathrooms, much needed after my 4-hour drive up that morning!) and a little time to mingle before we started the garden walk. 

This part of the house always confuses me a bit when I look back at photos. There's an open air space between the house and an enclosed porch space. Of course I spend more time looking at the plants than the architecture.

Isn't this just a beautiful setting? We walked out on to the lawn and paused for our fist fern sighting, but I was drawn to the cordylines, aeoniums and trough containers.

The garden is in a pretty sweet spot near Puget Sound, and listed as USDA Zone 9a, but there's also a greenhouse on site, into which the marginal container specimens can be moved.

Walking on... 

More containers at the back of the house...

And a fern table, Richie Steffen, Executive Director at the garden, is the man behind the fern table craze here in the Pacific Northwest.

I have one of these, a Hedera helix 'Erecta'.  

Theirs looks so much better than mine, I definitely need to put mine in the ground.

Now we're at the edge of the parking area, on the side of the garden that begins the descent down to the deck with the water view. These table plantings were new this year, I think they're calling them pollinator tables (a play on the fern table)...

So many fantastic containers in this garden!

I think this is a Rhododendron macabeanum? I asked my friend Emily Joseph, Assistant Nursery and Retail Sales Manager for the Rhododendron Species BG and if I remember correctly that's what she said. Emily is also the Nursery Manager for the Hardy Fern Foundation and she was one of the tour leaders that day.

Pyrrosia sheareri in a curvy stump (want).

These next few containers are all on the lower deck that has the Puget Sound view.

This would never get old!

More pyrrosia...

There are a few tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica, growing in the Miller Garden. 

I took this fun begonia shot for Instagram, but decided to share it here too.

I finally got to poke around the greenhouse/nursery area at the garden!

I think these are little baby Cordyline indivisa (we saw big ones in the shot with the stairs towards the beginning of the post)

So organized!

Inside their spore (and more) propagation area...

Itty bitty baby Pyrrosia sheareri (!)...

And nearby, baby agaves too!

Adiantum aleuticum var. subpumilum

Yes, a few more container shots to wrap up the post...

These last couple of plantings are almost too sweet. They make me think of an Easter basket with all those pastel shades.

So springy! Back on Friday to ogle some ferns.

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All material © 2009-2025 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.