I've just bought a new house this last fall, and trying to decide what to plant. I live in northern Vermont.

There's a few shady spots in the yard that I imagine will only be full shade. It seems like my choices for foliage are pretty limited to hostas (which I'm not too crazy about) or ferns.

Native ferns grow abundantly in the area, but not in the yard.

Instead of buying plants, I was considering stealing some ferns from the 100s of acres of woods out back. (No, I don't think the neighbors are going to care.)

Is this a good idea? Should I know something specifically about fern husbandry?