By Victoria Torley

Boy oh boy! It sure has been seasonably hot up here near the lake. On a hot day, there is nothing like a nice walk by a shaded stream. Of course, finding a shaded stream with a walkable bank can be difficult.

Take our Río Aguacate located near Arenal Lake, for example. On one side it is a tangle of vines and undergrowth and on the other a mess of soft spongy ground that will suck off your boot. 

Happily, we have another choice, an arroyo with a small stream flowing over a rocky base. Very soothing. Very walkable as well as my gardener and I spent many hours laying out (mostly my job) and cutting (mostly his job) paths that wind to and fro in the cool shade of large trees.

Whenever the weather gets too hot for him to work anywhere else, I can always find something that needs to be done in the shade.

Naturally enough, the making of paths required some plant removal, sometimes to the compost pile and sometimes just to a new location. 

Ferns can always be transplanted and grouped elsewhere in the shade although some actually prefer the sun.

We have many sun-loving ferns in Costa Rica and they are easily transplanted. 

One of my favorites is the Gleichinia bifida which is a sun lover that grows on steep roadside banks just up the hill from our home. It can be one of the first ferns to grow after a landslide has ruined other vegetation.

Gleichinia bifida, for which I have not found a local name, is a member of the Gleicheniaceae family, the family of the forked ferns. Instead of growing a long individual frond, forked ferns have long stems that branch out and then produce leaflets. Although recognizable as ferns, the family is quite distinctive in that regard.

The plant for the week. But enough of sunny locations, it’s too hot right now for gardening in the sun so let’s look at one of my favorite ferns for the shade, even though you have to have a lot of shade to grow it. 

The mule’s foot fern, Angiopteris evecta can grow fronds as long as 25 feet and reaches up to 8 feet tall. Plant in a shady location with plenty of room for it to grow. Because it likes a humid location and moist soil, this fern is not recommended for areas prone to a dry season.

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Find more amazing stories about gardening in Costa Rica on the Costa Rica Garden website. Regarding questions on this article, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached by emailing victoriatorley1@gmail.com.