Lady fern | Athyrium filix femina

Your moisture loving plant will arrive in a solid 9cm pot, pre-planted with soil. Just pop out the pot and into the ground in an damp area close to your pond or a garden border.

• Growing Instructions: Plant in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil in partial to full shade. Ensure the planting area remains consistently damp, especially during dry periods.
  Space plants appropriately (50–100cm, depending on the variety) to allow room for their fronds to arch and spread naturally.
  
  
• Growing Tips: Tolerates more sunlight than most ferns if kept consistently moist. Mulch annually to maintain moisture and suppress weeds.

• Pruning: Cut back all dead or dying fronds to ground level in late autumn or winter once they’ve fully died back.
• Pests/Diseases: Ferns are generally resilient but may occasionally be affected by slugs, snails, or aphids on young fronds. Overly wet or poorly drained soil can lead to root rot. Ensure good air circulation to prevent fungal issues like powdery mildew.

How are Moisture Loving Plants different to Marginal Plants?

Moisture loving plants are not planted in the pond like marginal plants are.

They are planted outside of the pond in natural or mad-made damp, boggy areas.
These plants like to keep their roots damp but not water-logged at all times, so do not let the area they are in become dry.

Will my Moisture Loving plants arrive potted?

Yes, they will arrive potted in solid 9cm pots.

As these plants are moisture lovers, they do not sit inside your pond but round the edges in boggy/damp areas, so are planted directly into the ground without their pot.

How many plants will I need?

We recommend 8 x 9cm plants per sqm to achieve a full look in your bog garden.

Delivery Prices

Mainland UK

Standard delivery: £6.00
Large plants (e.g., 30ltr waterlilies): pallet delivery - quote required.
Soil & gravel: additional charges apply for multiple bags.
Please email us with your postcode if a delivery price is not displaying at checkout

Highlands & Islands

Small parcels under 1.8kg: £6.00
Standard parcels over 1.8kg: £25.00
All H&I deliveries use 48-hour services

If you’re unsure about delivery costs to your postcode, please email us at.

Container Ponds

Delivery from £30 (postcode-based, please check before ordering)

Shipping to Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Europe

Sorry, we are unable to ship to the above destinations.

Dispatch Schedule

Aquatic Plants

March: Monday and Thursday
April – August: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Late August to October: Monday and Thursday
October – February: Tuesday only

Aquatic plants are dispatched all year round, though frequency reduces during low season.

Garden Plants

Dispatched all year round - Tuesday & Thursday

Are plants dispatched the same day as ordering?

No. Live plants require draining and careful preparation.  The nurseries dispatch in scheduled batches rather than on-demand. This means same-day dispatch isn’t possible, but we always aim to send your order as promptly as we can within our dispatch schedule.

If you’d like to check when your order is likely to arrive, just email us and we’ll be happy to advise.

Delivery and Couriers

We use trusted UK couriers:
APC and Royal Mail for pond plants
DX for garden plants
Pallet deliveries for 30ltr waterlilies, large landscape orders and container ponds

Delivery Times

APC and DX orders are sent on overnight services but may take up to 48 hours depending on your local depot.
Royal Mail parcels usually arrive within 24–48 hours.

Plants are packed in damp soil and remain safe in transit for several days.

Tracking and Safe Place Instructions

Your dispatch email will contain tracking information where applicable.

Couriers are instructed to leave parcels in a safe place with no signature required. You can add your own delivery notes using the links below. We recommend requesting a cool, shaded spot so the plants stay fresh on arrival.

APC - https://apcchoice.apc-overnight.com/

Royal Mail - will use your email and mobile number provided during ordering to send delivery updates and enable you to add safe-place instructions.
Please do not delay delivery of live plants.

Royal Mail will never ask you to make an additional payment for a delivery. If you receive a message requesting payment, please delete it and do not click any links. If you are unsure whether a message is genuine, email us and we’ll be happy to advise

Damages & Returns

If your order arrives damaged, please take photos of the packaging and plants and email us with your PFP order number.

Due to bio-security and the perishable nature of plants, we cannot accept returns of plants or molluscs.

Container ponds are handmade to order and non-returnable unless damaged.

For full details, please see our returns policy

Need Help?

If you have any questions about delivery or dispatch times, please email us