Ancient Origins of Ferns
Which came first - a fern or a dinosaur? The answer is the fern. Ferns have existed on Earth for between 360 to 400 million years. They are an exciting and complex plant species that originally thrived in swampy murky forests and reproduce via spores.
Once upon a time ferns were the vegetable aristocracy - as one of the first vascular plants, they could thrive in marshy landscapes, with their dominance at its most significant during the Carboniferous “Age of Ferns” (approximately 300–360 million years ago). A positive environmental footprint from these ancient ferns still exists today. The swampy ground they thrived on lacked oxygen, so when they died bacteria did not degrade them, creating instead rich carbonised fossil deposits - now important sources of coal and natural gas.
Ferns Through History
Approximately 135 million years ago, (having originally developed in tropical regions), flowering plants and grasses rapidly diversified and spread across the world, causing the extinction of many botanical species. However, the advent of flower-laden rainforests opened up new environments which the adaptable fern species took advantage of, ensuring their survival and continued prominence.
In the Medieval period ferns took on rich symbolic and artistic meaning - their delicate repeating patterns and mysterious methods of reproduction fascinated people. Ferns were believed to possess magical properties and were celebrated in folklore ceremonies, especially around Midsummer. They were also used medicinally in homeopathic remedies and some varieties, bracken in particular, had practical uses such as for animal bedding and housing insulation. Burnt bracken created high levels of potassium ash, which was used in early soap and glass making.
Victorian Fern Mania – ‘Pteridomania’
Ferns truly came into their own during the Victorian fern craze - “Pteridomania” - which literally translates as “fern madness”, when Victorians obsessively hunted, collected and cultivated ferns, especially between 1840–1890.
This frenzy was the result of scientific invention combined with curiosity and social mobility. The scientific invention was the Wardian Case, invented in 1829 by London physician and botanist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward. Up until this time it was difficult to transport tropical plants from their native habitats to Europe, as long sea journeys through cool salty environments usually damaged them.
Bagshaw Ward discovered that ferns and mosses could thrive inside what was essentially a sealed glass bottle. The Wardian Case became a miniature ecosystem and established the design template for the terrariums and greenhouses the Victorians so delighted in.
This liberated the educated upper classes to fiercely pursue their collection of rare ferns from wild environments, sometimes risking dangerous climbs to collect them. Returning with their specimens they created detailed pressed fern albums which were a source of pride and demanded kudos from their contemporaries, and several books about botanical plants and ferns were published at the time, such as Edward Joseph Lowe's “Our Native Ferns”.
Importantly, fern collecting spread throughout Victorian society and enabled new groups to engage with popular science. The expansion of the railways allowed ordinary people to temporarily escape industrial cities and reconnect with nature through fern hunting. Potted ferns could be found in almost every Victorian home:
“and for boys with a taste for gardening no better group of plants could be selected for a first attempt . . . ferns, then, will grow almost anywhere, and always look bright and cheerful. Many a greenhouse which can only be kept gay by frequent purchases which wither as soon as they take their place on its shelves, would be turned into quite a bower of inexpensive elegance if simply filled with ferns” (The Boy’s Own Annual, 1886).
Fern collecting also became a socially acceptable hobby for Victorian women, offering a rare opportunity to engage in scientific study.
Fern Motifs in Antiques and Design
Fern mania hugely influenced art and design with many Victorian 19th century antiques embracing fern motifs in some way. Inevitably garden design and garden antiques incorporated ferns - the Coalbrookdale cast iron fern garden bench is a famous example of iconic antique garden furniture from this period.
Antique garden urns would often be planted with exotic varieties of ferns grown in beautiful Victorian greenhouses. Fern imagery spread to both mass-produced and handcrafted objects, such as antique ceramics. “Fernware” Pottery became especially popular - real ferns were pressed into clay to create detailed impressions, then being finished with a brown or sepia-toned glaze on tiles and vases.
Pressed ferns were also used to create designs on decorative antiques such as souvenir trinket boxes made from sycamore, produced in Ayrshire, Scotland and known as Mauchline Ware. Scrapbooks, albums, illustrated botanical books and lithographic hand-coloured prints of fern species were all highly prized antique decorative items during this period.
The wonderful fern also found its way into antique textiles – fern fronds had a natural symmetry and repeating pattern that made them ideal to incorporate into fabric and wallpaper designs. There are countless examples of beautiful fabrics produced by major textile houses, such as Morris & Co and GP & J Baker etc which incorporate fern motifs.
Ferns in Interiors and Gardens Today
Today ferns are valued in different ways. Within garden design they are often used in shady areas and associated with natural woodland aesthetics, where they serve important functions in soil stability, moisture retention and biodiversity.
Ferns still play a strong role in interior design and are widely used in decorative interiors. Their naturally elegant form, historical associations and visual softness create movement and texture without overwhelming a space. Well-positioned ferns create a sense of calm and are ideal for low-light areas and bathrooms, whilst effortlessly complementing English antique furniture from the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
At Mist Antiques and Decorative Interiors there are several antique copper planters available, which would be ideal for planting with ferns. Please explore the Garden – Planters & Urns section on the website for some inspiring ideas.
Illustration -
Plate of "50 Native Species of Fern", from The Boy’s Own Annual, 1886.
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