Hey Blog! These last few weeks have been a riot of colour in the wood; the floor has turned blue! This year’s bluebells are in full swing, revealing plants that have been hidden as bulbs for the last year, and if they were new from seeds they were made four or five years ago! My local wood is full of them, so I decided to write about these beautiful flowers this week.
Bluebells used to be a wild plant, but now are common in gardens, but nowadays wild ones do not appear so often, and an entire wood carpeted with them is definitely quite rare. Here in Derbyshire we are lucky to have several such “Bluebell woods”, places where the entire area abounds with springtime life. There is a lovely feeling when standing in the midst of a bluebell wood, looking at the floor carpeted with plants; some of which could be several years old. During our recent walks, we have even smelt the scent of pollen from the small, blue, bell-shaped flowers! Seeing them is a true sign that spring has fully sprung. Here are some fabulous pictures of the wood, and one of me running through the bluebells!
There are two species of bluebell in the UK: the English Bluebell and the Spanish Bluebell. The English is the native species (as can be supposed by the name) and the more common, so it is probably the one in my wood. The Spanish is hardier, but is noticeable as it has less “droop”, however beware as the two can hybridise. Nothing matches their stunning beauty, and as half the world’s bluebell woods are in the UK, we are blessed indeed with the spectacle. Apparently, ants plant bluebells (do you think they count the number planted, as we saw they could last week?) so if you live near a wood you may find plants popping up in your garden. It was also said that the blue ‘bells’ of the flowers called fairies to the woods at dawn, but doom was upon any mortal who heard it, as it meant the hearer would die (In my opinion, it’s better to smell and look at the flowers but not hear them!). Bluebells are such a beautiful plant to have in the wood, they encaptivate you, so I can fully understand how and why they were considered magical. I hope everyone sees the “Bluebell magic” this year, and respects them – we can’t afford to tread on them, and they can take years to come back after foot damage!
