Sculptural and primeval, Australian tree ferns have been thrilling British gardeners for more than 150 years. They’re also perfect for today’s tiny back gardens and shady courtyards
With thick, fuzzy trunks topped by a headdress of imposing fronds, these giants of the fern family are showstoppers. “When you see them, you think, wow,” says designer Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, who has been using them in his gardens for more than 30 years. But it is their ability to make a statuesque feature in the smallest of spaces that has cemented the tree fern’s recent popularity, he says. “When you’ve got a dark area where little else will grow, few plants perform so well.”
Among the tree ferns available in the UK, the most popular is Dicksonia antarctica. Its huge trunks, which arrived on our shores in the 1840s and 50s, were transported from their native Australia to be planted in Britain’s grand gardens by well-heeled Victorian gardeners. The plant’s main asset is its hardiness: it can cope with temperatures as cold as -5C, which means it will survive the average British winter with the help of some insulation around the crown. They can grow to 15m (49ft) in their native south-eastern Australia. Others, such as the black tree fern (Cyathea medullaris), may thrive outside in a sheltered garden in Cornwall or in the heat island of central London, but would struggle elsewhere in the event of a harsh UK winter.
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