Wandering through our garden during an early February thaw, I notice lots of pleasing green colors among the somber hues of winter. Emerging from melting snow, lying prone against leaf litter and stone are various groups of evergreen plants. Evergreens shine late fall through early spring giving your garden or woodlot color and character throughout the non-growing season. Granted they are not always at their peak foliage but green is a most appealing color to the
off-season gardener.

The most striking group of evergreen plants in our gardens is the ferns. While not all ferns are evergreen, many of my favorites are. These plants have small to large fronds with varying degrees of leaf structure and color. Many keep their upright shapes until flattened into rosettes of outwardly lying fronds, by the heavy snows of winter.  Then as the snow melts their green foliage emerges from under their winter blanket.

Two of my favorite evergreen ferns are also native to Michigan. Marginal wood (drypteris marginalis) and Intermediate wood (dryopteris intermedia) ferns are both large, tough perennials with the classic vase shape. They also both have impressive scaly fiddleheads rising out of last years ring of still green fronds. Both are great for shaded gardens and woodland naturalizing. (see photos below) There are many evergreen ferns and plants to liven up your winter palette. Have fun experimenting with this aspect of gardening!