Happy Little Things--Resurrection Ferns

August 22, 2014

A few days ago, I read this post on Elizabeth Smith’s blog, A Nature Art Journal. I recognized the ferns she described from my yard—I had just noticed them and was delighted to learn what they were called. I resolved to take some pictures of them. When I did, this is what I found:



We’ve had record high temperatures this past week, and none of the usual summer afternoon storms. Poor little ferns. However, I knew from reading Elizabeth’s post that the fronds could transform from these dead-looking specimens into something lovely. So I decided to water one group of them to see how long it would take to come back from the dead. This is what I found when I went to look later that day:


Amazing! I didn’t water the other group, but it rained last night and this is what I found when I checked this morning:


These little ferns make me happy and inspire me with their delicate beauty and tenacious clinging to life. They find a way to survive even when their environment is hostile, and with the least encouragement, burst out into their true beauty. I should be so resilient!

Please check out Elizabeth’s post for more information on the resurrection fern, and to see her beautiful drawings.

What happy little things have you discovered lately?

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2 comments

  1. How lucky you are to have these lovely little ferns in your yard! I'm happy that I could help you discover what they are. They really are amazing, and it takes an experiment like yours to appreciate the transformation!

    These ferns make me happy too! Their resurrection process encourages me to be resilient and to make the most of the little things that nourish me, which is something your blog is also so good at doing. :-D

    These are great photos too -- thank you for an uplifting post!!

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  2. Thank you, Elizabeth--and thank you also for the idea, and for opening my eyes to these little beauties. We had a big storm last night, so I'm going to see if they are looking good again this morning. They were all dried up again yesterday afternoon.

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