An arboretum is a collection of different trees that can be cultivated for pleasure and beauty – such as in a very large garden or plantation. Or it may be used for the botanical study of the tree specimens contained in it.  The name comes from arbor, the Latin word for tree.

In the second half of the 19^th century there was a craze for ferns.  This obsession came to be known as ‘fern fever’ or pteridomania – named after the Latin name for ferns which is pteridophytes. Ferns were collected, studied and admired on a very, very wide scale.  As well as becoming a feature in gardens and as houseplants the fern was ubiquitous as a decorative motif.  Fern patterns could be found on glassware, china, fabric, pottery, stucco and much more.  In fact if you look carefully at the corbels in the billiard room in Fota – now the café- you can see ferns in the plasterwork.