 |
| British bluebells in Kent |
Certain flowers, even though they may well grow naturally in other places, are just synonomous with a particular country - like tulips from The Netherlands, cherry blossom in Japan, and Austria's edelweiss. In the UK, roses may be an obvious choice, but I think another option would be the bluebell. After all, surely the sight of a carpet of blue under a canopy of trees is a much loved, if fleeting, sight in our woodlands.
And fleeting they are, appearing only for a few weeks, some time from mid April to late May. So popular are they, that many woodlands arrange special bluebell walks at this time of the year, to limit the number of people traipsing through them.
Of course, for the authentic experience, it is important that it is our native bluebells, and not the Spanish ones that do seem to be taking over, to the degree that even though we have half the world's population of them, our British bluebells are now regarded as endangered.
 |
| British bluebells in Kent |
There are a lots of ways to tell them apart, as they are quite different to look at. The Spanish ones have conical flowers, with tips that flare out. The stems are upright and straight, with the flowers coming all around it. The colour is generally a pale to mid blue, with blue or green pollen on the stamens, though they can also be white or pink.
The British ones have long, straight, narrow flowers with the tips curling outwards. The stems droop over to one side, where the flowers that grow just on that side are weighing them down. The colour is a strong violet blue, and the pollen is a creamy white.
We found these bluebells in one of the local Kentish woodlands, just parking at the side of the road and taking a look. You can see from the photos that some people who came before us have trampled a path through them. If you visit a bluebell wood, please don't do that, as they are endangered, and definitely don't pick them, as they are protected. It takes five years for a bluebell to grow from a seed to a flower, which is partly why they are such a delicate species.
I hope you enjoy looking at the photos, but of course they do look far better in reality.
  |
| British bluebells in Kent |
 |
| British bluebells in Kent |
  |
| British bluebells in Kent |
  |
| British bluebells in Kent |
 |
| British bluebells in Kent |
No comments:
Post a Comment
We like to hear from you too, so please leave us a message here. We are also happy to answer any questions if we can help. Comments are moderated so will not appear straight away and there could be some delay in replying if we are travelling.