I have become a grower of ferns

I never thought it would happen to me but I have become a grower of ferns. I might even have a case of Pteridomania. How did this happen?
Our front porch is my favourite part of our house and we spend hours and hours out there in the summer. Last summer I bought three hanging ferns to hang out there and I grew to love them for their shape, colour and the way their leaves unfurl. When winter started rolling in last October, I began what I expect will be an annual event: "Take Your Giant Ferns to Work Day." And then, in the spring, I arranged for the first annual "Take Your Giant Ferns Home From Work Day." Some members of this household refer to both events as "Make Your Husband Carry Your Giant Ferns Across Campus Day."
I've spent a lot of time staring at these lovely plants over the past two summers. Tonight as I listened to them swish in the breeze I wondered why I have two seemingly disparate associations with ferns: dinosaurs and Victorians. Ferns have been found in fossils dating from the Carboniferous era (roughly 359.2 - 299 million years ago) and it has been suggested that ferns made up a significant part of herbivorous dinosaurs' diets. Ferns are also part of the phylum or division Pteridophyta (which, ok, I admit, sort of reminds me of the pterodactyl.) The phylum name is where we get the name Pteridomania - the Victorian Fern Craze. I've just started poking around this topic but I'm intrigued. In my short research, I've also discovered the name for something I've always admired but never known what they're called: the Wardian case.