For thousands of years, ferns have been gracing our planet with their wispy, feathery leaves, providing beauty and grace in forests, fields, jungles and gardens. With over 10,500 fern varieties, they never cease to beautify our surroundings. Learn more about how you can grow and reproduce these green, frond-y gems and join

WSU Clallam County Master Gardener, Sara Farinelli.

The Green Thumb Education Series presentation “Propagating Ferns” will be held in person and via Zoom on Thursday, October 26th from noon – 1:00 p.m. at the Port Angeles Library’s Carver Room, 2210 S. Peabody St. in Port Angeles.

Find a direct link to the live presentation here.

Or join by phone: 253-215-8782

Meeting ID: 936 2989 8830

Passcode: 676224

Ferns provide a pop of color to interior spaces, add texture and interest to landscapes and many are perfect for a too-shady spot in your garden. Sara will give a brief introduction to ferns and the various ways they reproduce, with a focus on propagation by spores. “(People) who enjoy growing ornamental and vegetable garden plants from seeds will find this to be another way to satisfy the urge to produce their own garden plants,” Sara said.

Several years ago, Sara took a fern propagation class offered at Kruckeberg Botanical Garden in Shoreline, WA. “The relative ease of getting the spore to grow and produce a fern came as a surprise and inspired (me) to find out more about this lovely, diverse plant,” she added. Sara has been growing plant starts for the Master Gardener demonstration plots at the 5th Street Community Gardens for the past five years. For her own yard, she also enjoys growing annuals and herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees from seed, layering, bare root and cuttings. Some of her “fern babies” have been sold at the Master Gardener Annual Plant Sale.

Sara has been a Master Gardener since 2016 and has coordinated the creation of the yearly Master Gardener Calendar (2024 now available for purchase here) since 2020. She spends hours in her yard dreaming of the beautiful woodland garden it will someday become.

The “Green Thumbs Garden Tips” education series, sponsored by the Washington State University Clallam County Master Gardeners, is held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month through October. In November, December, and January, one lecture is offered. Scheduled presentations are subject to change. Visit the WSU Extension Clallam County website calendar for the latest information on upcoming presentations. For questions, call 360-565-2678.