I have a new love in my life..... the English Bluebell! Living in South Africa, bluebells were never something I thought much about and then we moved to England and suddenly they have became something of an obsession!
I've discovered some interesting facts about these pretty little blue flowers since I sat up and took notice, for instance: I discovered that almost half the world's bluebells are found in the UK, they’re relatively rare in the rest of the world. The entire bluebell plant is poisonous to humans and animals. Although common in the UK, bluebells are threatened by habitat destruction and cross-breeding with non-native bluebells (eg the Spanish bluebell) They are pretty fragile, they can take years to recover from being stepped on and bluebell colonies take a long time to establish - roughly five to seven years from the seed being planted to flowering. Bluebells are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), making it against the law to intentionally pick, uproot or destroy bluebells
Since the beginning of April I have been on "bluebell watch", eagerly awaiting our first visit to see the bluebells. Bluebells usually flower from mid-April to late May, depending on the weather. Finally, a couple of weeks ago we saw the first bluebells appearing in the odd garden and then, the first week in May, I heard that the bluebells were looking beautiful in some of the local woods and so we made our first visit to Dockey Wood to see these beautiful flowers. We were not disappointed! What a sight to behold!
Dockey Wood is part of the Ashridge Estate - for more information and directions, click here.
No comments
Post a Comment