Scottish Bluebell

Are you looking for an early-season, shade-loving perennial that has blue flowers and is also a native perennial wildflower? Then Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are an excellent choice to add to your landscape.

Hyacinthoides hispanica, or Spanish bluebells, used to be called Scilla, and also Endymion. I have some mixed colors (pink, white, pale blue) acquired by those names growing in quite-shady spots from eons ago, where they have just carried on with virtually no care. Lately, though, I wanted to make more of a deliberate show, and ‘Excelsior’ (a nice blue), at about 15 inches high, came highly recommended.Other Spanish bluebell plusses: Animals don’t eat them, they can tolerate a fair amount of shade, are very hardy (Zones 3-8), naturalize well (meaning they multiply and persist, so keep that in mind when placing them), and as mentioned require no care.The scaled-down Narcissus above called ‘Hawera’ (Zone 4-9) is animal proof (like all daffodils) and naturalizes easily, too. Each 6-to-8-inch-high stem produces multiple fragrant pale yellow nodding flowers with tiny cups. Its delicate stature is deceptive; this is one tough little bulb

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center says Mertensia is native from southern Ontario to eastern Minnesota, down to North Carolina, Arkansas and eastern Kansas, and “naturalized northeastward.” I have never seen it in the wild, but even a grouping of five or so plants can be dramatic in the early spring home garden.Virginia bluebells (Zones 4-7, maybe warmer) is summer-dormant, but before its long late-June-to-April nap, it shows off bigtime. A beautiful clump of foliage comes first—tender looking, with a blue-green cast. Then come the flower stems (temporarily making the plant not just a foot tall but almost tw

Lockdown made this a familiar walk for us all. it's one of the few which takes you to a destination instead of around in a circle and has more of a sense of a journey as a result. Familiarity doesn't mean there aren't any surprises — we were delighted to find extensive bluebell woods either side of the track once we were close to the Bowood Estate. I thought I'd found all the local, walkable bluebell woods during the past two years, and I'm delighted to be proven wrong.There was plenty of wild garlic too — walks there during the rest of May are going to be quite pungent!May the month of May be as delightful for you, whatever's happening in your neck of the woods.

The transitional days from winter to spring and summer to autumn are visually the most inspiring to me. Trying to spot the very first subtle changes that signal the arrival of a new season brings a quiet feeling of rejuvenation and mentally kick-starts my motivation for fresh projects, both indoors and out. Summer, however, is the season when I slow down – or at least try to – to observe and relish the completed projects of seasons past as well as a garden in lush, fresh bloom.

Wood hyacinth, aka Spanish bluebell, is a flowering perennial bulb that’s suitable for cultivation in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8.These versatile spring bloomers provide a riot of blue-lavender, pink, or whit

Gentlemen’s breeches or old ladies’ bonnets. Wait, are we talking about old fashioned clothing on a gardening website?Eastern bluebell, Virginia cowslip, or Roanoke bells. Phew,

Lots of rain and the return of cold weather has meant that any spring planting has been put on hold, but it has provided an ideal opportunity to dig up some of the largest clumps of Spanish Bluebells in the woodland area, especially those that are crowding out more welcome plants.  The heavy rain has given the ground a thorough soak and lifting the clumps has been easy using my little border fork. Once I’ve loosened the soil, I gently but firmly pull upwards, removing the plants, bulbs and all. The leaves can go on the compost heap, but the bulbs will be bagged up and taken to the local tip for them to compost.  There are still loads left, but if I do a few each year I will gradually reduce their thuggish ways. This page offers so

Native and Spanish Bluebells As someone with a profusion of both types of bluebell in my garden I’m very familiar with the differences between them. The native bluebell carries its flowers down one side of its stem which gives the flower heads their characteristic droop, while the Spanish bluebell is sturdier and more upright with the flowers on all sides of the stem.

By far the greater number of bluebells in my garden are the Spanish interlopers and I suspect it is a life’s work to rid the garden of their presence, so I try to restrict them to the woodland area of the garden where they look vaguely appropriate.  I don’t like them in the borders though, so now that there has been some good rain, I am taking advantage of the soft soil to dig up as many as I can, well before they can set seed and spread still further.  I haven’t managed to get every bulb out, so some will return, but I have found that this is the best time of year to tackle them. This post will help you identify your bluebells. The leaves c

English or common bluebells are the flowering perennial bulbs you can find carpeting woodlands with layers of blue in Europe in the springtime. They’re steeped in folklore and history.These classic spring bloomers are suitable for cultivation in USD