Botanical Fern (botanical style)

Ferns have no flowers and no seeds. They spread by spores, held in small clusters called sori on the underside of the fronds, and each spore grows into a tiny separate plant before a new fern forms. The Victorians loved them so much that collecting ferns became a craze known as pteridomania. Glass Wardian cases let people keep them indoors, and The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland, published in 1855, recorded native species by nature printing.

Native ferns such as male fern and hart's-tongue suit the damp, shady corners where little else will grow. Plant them in spring or autumn into soil enriched with leaf mould, and keep them watered through their first summer. With deciduous kinds, cut away last year's brown fronds in late winter or March, before the new croziers start to uncoil. Evergreen ferns only need tidying in spring. A mulch of bark or leaf mould each year keeps the roots cool and moist.

Two stages of the same plant cross in this study: a young frond still unfurling from its coil, laid over a mature frond that's fully open. The cream ground leaves both shapes clear. Spring is when ferns change fastest, and showing the tight curl beside the finished frond captures that moment of growth.