The Unfolding of Ferns

I’ve always loved ferns. But I’ve never paid too much attention to how their leaves appear in spring. Until this week, that is.

It’s mesmerising.

First, the stems unroll upwards; the tightly coiled spirals defying gravity as they reach for the sun. Then each individual leaf unfurls - some to the right, some to the left. It’s as if each stem is flinging out its arms with a flourish at the end of some carefully choreographed dance.

The unwinding curls remind me of bass clefs…..the music to accompany the dance, perhaps.

It's amazing the drama that's unravelling on the moors; playing to an audience of a wide open sky.....

Comments

[Punctuation Mark]

i love unfolding ferns too!!! your images are very pretty... congrats!

[Tracy]

GORGEOUS photos, Helen... very easy to see the magic of ferns, their unfurling gently is wondrous! Enjoy the spring... gosh, it's almost summer now! :o)

[Kelley]

Gorgeous shotsl! I saw something similar on a recent nature center walk but the ferns here (Oklahoma) are much more delicate - not nearly as substantial (or magical) as these!