A Dallas plant hunter, 79, bags native and foreign ferns to broaden the palette of greens

01:51 PM CDT on Thursday, May 10, 2007

By HILLARY GANT / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

When landscape architect Naud Burnett II began his career in Dallas in 1947, he had to ask previous clients if he could divide and transplant their ferns to the next client's garden. "There were only about nine ferns regularly available until the mid-1980s," he says. "Ninety percent of what is available now was not around when I started."

Today, gardeners can choose from more than 100 varieties of hardy ferns, largely due to the Dallas-based horticulture company he founded, Casa Flora. The company, the largest fern producer in the United States, has introduced more than 70 ferns to the international market.

Tassel fern is one of the best ferns for Dallas. It has a lacy texture and hairy stems and it's evergreen.

Japanese painted fern needs morning sun but afternoon shade to bring out the best of its unusual metallic coloring.

Dallas was a much smaller place in 1947 when 19-year-old Naud Burnett graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in landscape architecture. Since then, he has had a hand in designing the landscapes of many of the finest residences and public settings in the city.

His client list reads like a who's who in Dallas and includes clients across the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. His biography on the TAMU Web site featuring distinguished alumni notes he has designed landscapes for the private homes of 23 of Forbes' 400 wealthiest people in the country.

His work is most accessible in his public spaces, which include Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park. He also designed the Dallas Arboretum's showpiece, the Jonsson Color Garden, and the Palmer Fern Dell, with 90 types of ferns planted along a meandering stream and humidified in our desperately hot summers with an automatic misting system.

Touring Mr. Burnett's personal greenhouse at Casa Flora is like exploring a plant playground. It is populated with ferns and other shade-lovers from fellow plant collectors and specimens brought back from expeditions around the world. "I love ferns because they create a serene mood in the garden with their unique textures and sense of naturalness unlike any other foliage in the landscape," says Mr. Burnett, who also is a founder of the Crape Myrtle Society of America and the Dallas chapter of the national azalea society. "As trees mature and landscapes become shadier, ferns will continue to grow in their popularity."

Hillary Gant is a certified landscape professional and a Dallas freelance writer.