One of my favourite of nature’s spectacles in Britain is a bluebell wood. At this time of year you can see a carpet of blue underneath the trees. We walked through this wood near Edenbridge in Kent last Sunday.
The English Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) thrives in this environment. Unfortunately it is threatened by hybridisation with the Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica). The English Bluebell is daintier than the Spanish, has flowers on just one side of the stem and so the stem droops, so that the beautiful little blue bells dangle! The bells themselves have a marked curl at the ends. You can see this in this close up of a bluebell at Parham House last week:
The English bluebell is a protected species and landowners are not allowed to remove bluebells on their land, and it is a criminal offence to remove bluebell bulbs.
The Spanish Bluebell thrives in my garden! You can see in this close up photo that the stems are much more upright and the bells not so dainty, are lighter blue, and don’t curve so much at the ends.
(Information from www.wikipedia.org)
What is nature doing right now that is spectacular in your part of the world?
5 comments:
Beautiful photos, as always. I love bluebells too and think that Spring in England is the best time of year anywhere in the world.
What gorgeous photos of bluebells, I'm still after my perfect shot!
We have lots of "proper" bluebells here in deepest darkest Uckfield!!
Love those bluebells and great photos as always Linda. I think I will have to put 'spring in England' on my dreams list :)
I have a few bluebells in my garden but would love to see those.
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