Looking for a Nursery with a Ghost Fern

Anyone happen to see any ghost ferns in any nurseries around the Frederick area, say a 25 mile radius or so? Or maybe towards Charlestown, WV? I'm want to try to avoid mail order. I know it's early yet, but I'm already "haunting" the local nurseries looking for one.

You might try asking your local nursery if they can order you some next time they place a plant order. We have a couple of locally owned nurseries here that will do that.

Dutch Plant Farm in Frederick would be a good place to ask about something like that... they might even have one.

Hi Critter,
Last time I looked there they didn't have anything yet. I've also checked Stadler Nursery. Plan to look at Meadow Farms and Surreybrook when I get the chance. Where's your favorite place to garden shop? I go buy Stadler every night going home from work and it's so hard to pass it by sometimes to see what's new. Sometimes when I need a fix, I go at lunch.

Bobbie

Stadler is a little pricey for me, but maybe they're more reasonable on their perennials than on their trees (they like to sell big trees at correspondingly big prices). Dutch Plant Farm is probably the place I end up at most often... Potomac Farms used to be a favorite, but they started going upscale like Stadler.

If you're passing right by Stadler, you're passing very near to me! The entrance to our development (Wellington Trace) is just up the road from the intersection of Elmer Derr & Ballenger Creek.... I'd say you need to swing over for coffee or lunch sometime soon... especially once it gets warm enough again to sit out on the deck!

I would agree that Dutch Plant Farm is probably the most likely to have something like that. You could also ask at Thanksgiving Farm. I remember seeing some kinds of outdoor ferns there last year but I don't remember that one in particular. I know they had some varieties of dryopteris but not sure about the arthyriums. If you do end up going the mail order route, I highly recommend Crownsville Nursery. I have ordered lots of ferns from there. Their packing/shipping is excellent and since they are pretty close by (Strasburg, Virginia), plants are not in transit more than a day or two.

Critter, I could walk to your house from work and probably have! That's where I walk at lunch with some of the people I work with when the weather's decent. I'd love to see your garden sometime! I know what you mean about Stadlers trees. I was looking for a small redbud, as I have to be able to manage to plant it down the cliffside, but the only ones they had at the time were huge and expensive. And their prices seemed to have increased this season on other stuff too, but their plants are very healthy and they have a big selection.

Nutmegnana, I often forget about Thanksgiving Farm, thanks for the reminder. They have a big selection, but are also pricey. The biggest reason I don't go there too much is I think the lady who runs it is a little rude. But I may have to swing by on the way home and check it out anyway. There's a certain rosemary I'm looking for she might have too. And thanks for the other suggestion for mail order. I'll diffently look into that.

ooh, for rosemary you must road trip to DeBaggio's with us! They're down near Dulles, but we have to make at least 1 trip a year because their selection is just awesome. They've been getting in more perennials since Tom's son took over the business, so maybe they'd even have your ghost fern. I still think DPF might be your best bet, though -- and they are likely to have a reasonably priced redbud for you also.

We will definitely have to get together, especially when it's nice enough to have lunch on the deck! Don't have overly high expectations of the garden, LOL, it's definitely a work in progress. :-)

Thanks for the recommendation on Crownsville for ferns etc... will have to check them out!

Did you all know if you sign up at the store or at their website, DiBaggios will send you a nice catalog in the mail that lists all the plants and other items they sell? No mail order, though, just what you can buy at the store.

I love DiBaggios. Great source of heirloom tomato and pepper plants besides the herbs too, by the way. They probably carry close to 100 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. And have you ever seen so many different kinds of basil?

If anyone is looking for a nice herb to grow as a perennial or low shrub, I highly recommend the green santolina. It's evergreen, tough as nails and extremely drought tolerant, beautiful foliage and pretty little yellow button flowers. Smells nice too. You can find it at Dibaggios.

Hey, if you all get out that way, might was well check Merrifield Garden Center to see if they have the ghost ferns. It's likely that if anyone does, they do, and they're just down the road from DiBaggios.

This message was edited Apr 12, 2007 11:28 AM

Did you know that their overhauled website now has a "shopping list" feature? I will make my next trip with a printout in hand!

Tom is the one who got me started with all the different basils (I think I started 15 this year) and with herbs in general. :-)

I forgot about Merrifield! You're right -- they do have a nice selection there. I got a little fig tree from them last year, am hoping it leafs out well this spring despite the "pruning" it got from the bunnies this winter.

I'm definetly up for the DeBaggio's road trip. Has anyone called shotgun yet :) I can't believe I've never heard of this place. I looked all over last year for a lovage plant. Even tried to get Stadler to order one for me, but they couldn't get one. A friend finally brought one back from a trip to Ohio where she went to a nursery.

I've got a lot of basil plants started also. I've got genovese and thai basil because those are the ones I absolutely need. And I also started one of those mixed seeds pack, which also has those 2 types. The trouble with that, I didn't want to thin them and get stuck with 2 I've already planted too much of and not any of the other varities of the others. So I separated them and I am so running out of room in front of the sliding glass door on 2 tinsy tray tables.

"Don't have overly high expectations of the garden, LOL, it's definitely a work in progress. :-)"; every garden is Critter. Mine started as pulling out all the rasberry brambles climbing up the cliff (funny, I pull them and you plant them), then realizing all this dirt going to wash down the cliff. Well I'll just plant a few ferns then, and maybe some hostas, and maybe this hellebore I found at a nursery, and maybe that really cool looking.... Before I know it I'm hooked. My husband says I should know where something will go before I buy it, I say I find a place for it ;)

I couldn't find a website for Dibaggios. Tried googling and also Garden Watchdog. Can anybody point me there? Not that I need to buy any more plants this year but . . . well, it's always nice to know what's out there . . .And we do need to do some new landscaping in the front yard.

I did the same thing you did when I did a search. It's spelled De not Di. Here's the website http://www.debaggioherbs.com/

Aha! Thank you.

Miata, I spent what seemed like half the day potting up basil seedlings... 3 1/2 flats, and I've still got more lemon, lime, and Sicilian basil seedlings left in the tray! I'll pot up a few extra lemon & lime basil plants, but I'm debating whether to just toss the others. The Sicilian basil doesn't have as strong a flavor as the Italian basil that I grow for pesto and cooking (friend brought seeds back from Italy for that one -- I call it Genovese, but it might actually be a Napoleanto type with its crinkled leaves)... no clove/anise flavor either, which is good, but I thought the basil flavor would be more pungent. (The only reason I already know what the Sicilian tastes like is that I have a flat of basil that I started even earlier, and they're just big enough to pinch & taste now.)

Critter, as soon as this stupid weather breaks I'll be more than happy to have you go with me. The nursery is on old Rt 40 that goes to Myersville, not Alternate 40 that goes to Middletown. It's about half way between Frederick and Myersville. If it's nice and we don't buy too much, we can take my car and put the top down if you like convertibles. I'll send you a Dmail with my number.

Wow, I knew you liked basil but I didn't realize you were such a connoisseur :) I've always wondered how to use some of the different ones like a cinnamon basil in cooking. Maybe you can give me some ideas.

I confess that I mostly grow Cinnamon Basil for the scent and the look of the plant... but a few leaves are nice tossed into a green salad, and I think I've heard the suggestion of adding it to a fruit salad.

Lime and Lemon basil work well in marinades for grilling, and I've been wondering how lime basil would be in salsa... Would you like a 6-pack of lemon & lime basils? I'm waffling on whether or not to pot up extras... people I give seedling to always seem intrigued by the citrus ones but then would rather have a couple of "regular" basils for their containers. With the flat I started earlier, I've got 4 1/2 flats of basil... Oh my, I just did the math, and that's 224 plants!! I don't think I'll be potting up the rest of those Sicilian basil seedlings... if they start tasting better/stronger as they get bigger, I'll make a note to keep more of them next year.

I think I potted up 9 little clumps of 'Italian Salad Leaf' basil, and I'm sure I don't need that many just to try it this year, so you're welcome to a few of those also. When the recently transplanted ones are big enough to need pinching back for the first time, you can come over and help me do some taste testing!

I use basils for landscaping as well as in cooking. I've got a couple dozen each of the Minette and the Greek Basil, small-leafed varieties that form nice, compact little globes. I've used them in containers before, and I may try them as a border planting this year. I agree with you that Thai basil is a must-have -- I can't get over the beautiful blooms on them!

Critter found my Ghost Fern! She picked it up for me and I swung by her house on my way home to pick it up. It's nice to have another pair of eyes in the nurseries. My husband says now I'm networking. Thanks again Critter, and I hope we can get together soon at my house for brunch one weekend.

I was as happy to find that fern as I was to find the little magnolia I'd been looking for! We'll definitely have to do some more nursery stomping together, and I'll sure take you up on that brunch invitation... I'm looking forward to seeing your new plantings!

:-)

I also purchased 3 ghost ferns this spring- I have 2 on the north side of the garden, in rocky clay soil, under my neighbor's maple-the other is going in a west-facing bed, w/ slightly better soil. I have done well with lots of other shade plants-heucheras, geraniums, hostas-any tips on how to make the ferns thrive? (other than adding lots of compost & mulch to the beds?)-the soil is wretched-stony clay...

Boy, critter, I hope you'll bring some of that basil to the plant swap. The lemon and lime sound wonderful. So does the other.

I'll see what I can do, LOL... I should have some unclaimed lime basil at least, since I potted up an extra 6-pack of it... it's amazing how quickly the basil goes, no matter how much of it I start! I've got half a flat of 'Spicy Globe' basil that I started just to use as a trap crop for Japanese Beetles -- it's their favorite, and I've been planting out clumps of it here and there so I can spray it with Sevin, kill beetles, and (obviously) not eat any of it!

However, I've still got extra seeds to share, and I'll bring seeds to the swap also (or Dmail me if you just want me to send you some). My brother just direct sows his basils each year into window boxes, and they do great that way too.

DH is holding down the fort while I'm visiting my folks this week, and he assures me that the basil and other seedlings are all doing just fine. :-)