Nature’s Artwork: Awe-Inspiring Stages of Growth and Reproduction in Ferns

I am fascinated with the natural world and all it has to offer.

Fern at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

The San Francisco Botanical Gardens was rife with inspiration for my photography earlier this summer. The environment — different from where I live in the Midwest — seemed both arid and lush at the same time.

Another fern in the Eons Gardens at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens is ready to unfurl. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

Ferns are not uncommon in the upper Midwest. The sheer difference in size is one fact that sets apart those growing on the Pacific coast and those in the forests of the Midwest.

Fern germinating from a winter of sleep and snow in West Central Wisconsin. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

When you pay attention to what is growing during each season or during the transition of seasons, you can see some amazing sights. The ferns below are sheathed in a fuzzy covering. As they continue to germinate, the fuzziness disappears.

Given what I know about plants from my years as a Master Gardener Volunteer, I’d say the fuzz serves some protective mechanism as the plant starts to grow again after a period of dormancy…