Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Ancient Bracken Ferns
Every year they pop up in my garden unbidden.
Alone, they are gangly and peculiar looking though they’re interesting to watch unfurl.
In mass, they look fine and I leave them alone where they fill in shady areas next to our driveway.
Bracken ferns are some of the oldest plants in the world and live on all continents except Antarctica. (I only learned their name today while researching for this post.)
Though not toxic to humans, they are toxic to grazing animals.
So I don’t feel bad for pulling them out, unlike the Sword Fern which I welcome in my garden.
Sharing with #theflowerhour.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Great shots. They’re fun, aren’t they? xx
Thank you! I do like their fiddleheads!
If you look close enough, everything is beautiful. Hugs, C
True. ☺️ Thank you.
Ferns are so ancient and mysterious, Susanne! These are beautiful! I’d faint if I saw ferns growing wild here.
Thanks, Terri! They love the damp and wet on this side of the mountains. I love all the other ferns but never appreciated the brackens much, as they popped up in unusual places in my yard. But they’re nice filler under the trees! 😀
Wonderful photos!!
Thanks so much!
We have them too, in our garden. They do look like something from outer space when they start to unfurl!
Yes, indeed! 😄
The furled leaves seem so complex before they show themselves. Lovely set of photos, Susanne. We have so much bracken in the woods around Beetley that the local Nature Trust has to chop down large areas of it to allow light to get through to other plants and seedlings.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. The fiddleheads are definitely interesting! I never liked this type of fern as it seemed to sprout up like a weed in the strangest places. Bob always liked it, so we compromised on where to allow it to grow. I can tell it can be very invasive!
Such a pretty awakening.
Thank you. ☺️