Woodland Ferns

I am fortunate to live in the maritime Pacific Northwest where many species of beautiful ferns grow wild on and around our property. These ferns were the inspiration for this basket. I love taking walks in the woods during different seasons to see how the ferns change and grow. The dark green sword ferns are really fun to watch as they unfurl their fronds. The soft and delicate maidenhair ferns are lovely. Some day I want to make a basket using the shiny black stems just like the Native Americans have done for centuries.   

I used natural green Long Leaf pine needles (eventually they will turn a beautiful brown), dark green artificial sinew, topaz Czech pressed glass leaf beads and a fern pottery base made by Pamela Zimmerman to make this basket. I had fun experimenting intertwining the pine needles around the rim of the basket.

Enjoy! 

Gardening Tip:  Use fern fronds in the fall to cover dahlia tubers to protect them from the cold and rain through the winter. I have done this for many years and it really works great. My dahlias come back bigger and better year after year without having to dig up the tubers!