Native Bluebell – Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Native Bluebell – Hyacinthoides non-scripta – nectar rich and visited by Bees, Butterflies and Hoverflies. Warren Wood, Bedfordshire.
Wordless Wednesday – Sweetly Scented First Bluebells
Gardening Jules
Birds, Bees, Flowers, Trees – Organic & Wildlife Friendly Gardening
Gardening Jules 
Nice, Julie. They are so pretty. I love bluebells. I keep intending to get some.
These are our native Bluebells Cynthia, I was intrigued by your comment and have just googled Canadian Bluebells as I wondered if yours were similar.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bluebell/
Its seems you have a few choices or even these too.
When they flower en masse in woodlands before the tree leaf cover, its a magnificent sight, a few more weeks though till that happens.
Thank you, Julie. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a mass of bluebells in Canada. I’ve seen a few, but not a group of many. Maybe in Vancouver/Victoria area, where the temperature is more moderate. But I will try to grow some one of these days.
Lovely …. I must go looking for some
They are just beginning to flower in our local woodland, hopefully not too long before a full carpet. 🙂
Wonderful flower and great photo !!!
Thanks Christiane, just waiting to see them in flower en masse now!
Fantastic photos!
Thank you! 🙂
My absolute favorites!
Its early days and only a few in flower here but hopefully soon we will see a carpet of Bluebells.
Gorgeous. Every year I look forward to bluebells. It is also a wildflower of the month by the Botanical Society of the British Isles.
Are you a member? We are in one of the few counties without a local group. This year I took part in the New Year wildflower hunt, but would like to be involved more.
I should become a member. Their work is so interesting although I am a complete amateur in botanic field.
I hear they run very good training courses for all levels, I feel like you and would like to get more involved. We have a very good local Wildlife trust group that we belong to and some of our speakers and walk leaders have been brilliant, I would recommend that organisation too.
Where is your local wildlife group based?
We go along regularly to events with the Flit Vale group, who meet in Maulden, Beds, they have talks through the winter and walks hosted by experts through the Spring, Summer and Autumn and lately also to the South Bedfordshire Group. If you go onto the London Wildlife Trusts website you will find a tab under ‘how you can help’ then scroll down to ‘find your local group’. I did volunteer too with the National Plant monitoring scheme last year but was allocated a field with 30 cows in, so gave my square up and am waiting for another local one. They have free training courses, which you can go to. I attended ones on sedges and grasses which was excellent but said cows stopped me putting in into practise!
Thank you for the info. Shame about cows!
Lovingly photographed, you have quite a treat to look forward to if these are just getting underway blooming.
Thanks Susie, I tried to show the way native Bluebells bend over under the weight of the flowers, as mainly they are all on one side of the stem, as opposed to the Spanish ones which are all around the stem.
I love this color, and they are so delicately shaded. What a treasure.
I love this colour too Marian, and when they are covering the floor of a beech wood its a real sight, definitely one of our best wildflowers.
Lovely to see native bluebells – I keep checking in hope but all the bluebells near me seem to be the very upright Spanish ones. Still pretty, though!
Apparently the two can hybridise – I’m not sure I have ever seen a Bluebell Hybrid but keep looking wherever we see Bluebells – the Spanish ones are supposed to be the stronger. Plantlife report that one in six broad-leafed woodlands have Spanish or hybridised Bluebells.
Beautiful shots. =) I like the look of the English bluebell very much.
Thanks Debra, although we moan about the rain here, bluebells thrive on the damp woodland floors before the canopies leaf over and walking through a woodland among a carpet of Bluebells is really special.
A lovely picture Julie, It is one of THE best sites a woodland covered in bluebells.
I have come to the conclusion that the ones in our garden are not the native ones and will start to remove them.
Thanks Brian, we are so fortunate to have native Bluebells in our woodlands, I agree seeing them carpet a woodland floor is absolutely wonderful. Sorry to hear you have some Spanish ones, they are pretty but probably better to remove them.
Perfect photos! So beautiful :))
Thanks Kate, one of the best things about our rainy damp climate are the Bluebells! I hope you have a lovely weekend. 🙂
Our bluebells are nowhere near flowering yet, though I’ve seen plenty of the Spanish ones in peoples’ gardens. Beautiful photo – you have captured that glorious purple-blue colour.
We only have a few so far Clare and the forecast for more cold nights may mean its a little longer before we see a carpet. Can you remind me of the wood you visited with lots of Bluebells a couple of years ago, was it Captains Wood?
I visited Reydon Wood a couple of years ago and it was full of bluebells at the beginning of May. When we visited Captain’s Wood last year at the beginning of May there were hardly any flowers out yet but it had been a very cold spring last year. I am hoping that all the Spanish bluebells will have finished before the natives start blooming so the chance of cross-pollination is lessened.
Thanks Clare, I shall look Reydon Wood up, this feels like a cold spring again, or up and down at least. Tomorrow looks to be good though. Yes, that’s a thought too on Spanish, they do seem to flower earlier.
Lovely shots – so graceful!
They are graceful! That’s the main difference between our native Bluebells and the Spanish ones Eliza, which are causing problems by hybridising. The natives bend to one side under the weight of the flowers, they are scented and have creamy white stamens too. Whereas the Spanish ones are upright and flower all the way round the stem.
I’ve heard of that problem and there are fewer and fewer true bluebell woods left.
For this species – Hyacinthoides non-scripta, we have more than 50% of the worlds Bluebells in the UK. Along with Spanish Bluebells, habitat destruction and global warming, causing trees to leaf earlier, there is a real threat that future generations will not get to see this magnificent sight.
😦
Really lovely. I think Mertensia virginica are my favorite bluebells.
That’s available to buy here, just looked your Mertensia virginica up, not a plant I have ever grown but looks really beautiful Jason.
A simply beautiful photo!
Thanks so much Tina! 🙂
Beautiful. And I can imagine the lovely scent of them once they open en masse too.
Hopefully by the end of this month we shall see carpets of Bluebells, our weather is not good though, colder and rain, hope its better where you are Cathy!
Hi Julie. I’m in the UK this week! Have seen a few bluebells around here in Northants. Strangely enough the hedgerows and trees are no greener here than in Germany, despite your mild winter.
I’ve seen folk post photos of Apple blossom in London but in Beds down the road from you currently, barely a bud break.Tomorrow is forecast some lovely sunshine here, I hope you get to enjoy that Cathy before you go back.
Beautiful! The native bluebell in my part of the world is Mertensia virginica. I planted some Spanish bluebells in one of my beds and since then have been warned they are super aggressive. If they start displacing my other plants I’ll pull them out.
Over here the Spanish can hybridise our natives, apparently one in every 6 UK woodlands now has hybrids. Mertensia virginica is a beautiful plant Jason, I bet en masse thats a wonderful sight too.
Nothing quite like a bluebell wood. They are looking wonderful right now. Lovely photos.
Aren’t we lucky, our local wood has lots this year, the best I have ever seen them.
Beautiful! :o) The bluebells we have here are quite different. Their Latin name is mertensia.
Thanks Tammy, I’ve seen photos of Mertensia, the flowers are beautiful and read its scented too, so must be a wonderful time when they are in flower en masse. 🙂
WOW!!! great photos-I must of missed these:-)
Thanks Robbie!