Garden Songs – “Xeric Ferns”
Photo: Ferns in Hanging Basket
Walking by Inner Vision Blog
Photo: Ferns in Hanging Basket
presents Garden Songs
Poems Inspired by my Gardens
Xeric Ferns
A group of ferns live in arid places
But so unexpected on barren hillsides
Commonly ferns don’t live in the desert
Damp and shady spots are best
Evaporation can cause problems
Ferns are found on every continent except Antartica
Groups of ferns make preparations before
Heat of summer makes them shrivel
In the dead of winter, they get a little rainfall
Just enough to see them through the season
Keep them balanced
Leaves can be covered by fine hairs
Many Xeric ferns live among desert rocks
New fonds are produced rapidly
One thinks of ferns as living in shade
Plants are preparing for next year
Quick draining sandy soil delivers rainwater
Rooted among rocks – rubble – rocky shale
Strategies are required for growth
The sori will mature, shed their spores,
Ultimately, drought resistant ferns are difficult to
Verify.
Watch them change as spring arrives
“Xerophytic Ferns.” Could flourish in
Yuma, Arizona, but check the USDA Hardiness
Zones 10a.
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©2022. Lynda McKinney Lambert.
Courtesy of American Poet, Lynda McKinney Lambert
Published:
The Avocet: A Journal of Nature Poetry.
Spring Issue, 2022.
Editor/Publisher: Charles Portolano
E-mail: cportolano@hotmail.com