To get some kind of feeling for the Victorian fern collector Nik and I took a walk up Mt Taranaki today. A low grey misty cloud hung over the mountain shutting out much of the morning light and bathing our track in muted green. I’d never taken that much notice of the different ferns but I was surprised and inspired by the plethora of diverse types which grew alongside our path. I was particularly taken with a tiny translucent fern whose fronds reminded me of glass lace which casually grew off the side of a punga.
