Painted Ferns - the kindness of strangers

Well, not strangers exactly.....
I mentioned to my step-mother-in-law Julie that we were trying to fill in some shady gaps in the garden and within hours she showed up with ferns.  I was ecstatic to get some big ole ferns in to add some height and texture to the ivy beds on the north side of the house.  She also handed over a hosta which I promptly split in two and planted (you can see one of them along the fence below)
THEN, I walk over to her house the other day, and find two large cardboard boxes of japanese painted ferns!  For me!  Julie mentioned to her friend at work Gwen, that I was in need of some planting material and Gwen yanked some ferns out of her garden.  I hardly even know Gwen, but I find it so sweet that as Julie's friend, and fellow gardener, she went to all that trouble.  So nice!!
The painted ferns had a tough two days in their cardboard box, but I think they'll spring back.  Gwen says they are from the Scott Arboretum and aren't picky about their soil.  We'll see....

 Also note my astilbe blooming.  There is another one next to it, but it is pretty scrawny and it is unlikely that it will bloom.

Add some ferns and..voila!

View from the deck

I dug up some wayward ferns from around the backyard and moved them into the loamy soil where the side fence used to be.  I also split up a existing hosta into 6 mini hostas to hhelp fill out the area  Cheap and easy! 
Now, just one question: what do i do with the dry shade in front of the bed?  Try some grass?

Finally moved those ferns

And replaced them with Compact Japanese Holly (Ilex glabra) and accessorized with red and orange chrysanthemums.  The ferns moved into the shade by the sandbox. Much better!

Bed B2 Frying Ferns

Late April

Early June: Needs some weeding, but otherwise these ferns look healthy.  Too bad a week later they were brown from too much sun!

The previous owner planted ferns on the south side of our screened porch - IN FULL SUN.  Now, in mid-June they are fried!  I need to move these asap.  Oh well, I guess I need to make another trip to the nursery for some replacements! And where to move the ferns...hmmmm....perhaps by the sandbox....?

Bed B1 FERNS!

I added some ferns to the east side of our screen porch.  Unfortunately, the ground is super clayey - not conducive to fantastic ferns.  I'll need to add some peat and a good layer of mulch.  Thanks to Julie for digging these out of her beds.