Thanks to Julie Hester letting me know about a very coronation day specific bluebell reference I have updated my post to include the first verse of 'The Bluebell Fairy' by Cicely Mary Barker. Thanks, Julie!
I was able to transplant a few from one patch to another area. I hope they will spread there too. Slowly I take it from your article. Forty years in a deciduous wooded wetlands area some Bluebells have taken over in two areas. Old flowerbeds. They are beautiful.
Oh, that's brilliant, Jennifer! My parents have some wild ones in their garden which have encroached from the gorgeous patch of woodland down at the bottom - very special! 😊
Ah the photos - bluebells are just glorious aren’t they. We have some that come up under a bench in our front garden. I painted it cream a few years back and I keep the seeds from the bluebells once they’ve gone to seed knowing they take at least 3/4 years to flower. 🥰
Gorgeous photos. I'm recalling my (American) daughter's early obsession with the Flower Fairies books, and just looked up the Bluebell Fairy. Here on coronation day it's perhaps appropriate:
Oh my goodness me, Julie - thank you so, so much for this lovely comment, and for the glorious reference! I wish I'd thought of the Flower Fairies - I loved them too - and in fact just this last week Cicely Mary Barker's books popped into my head, but in relation to the Apple Blossom Fairy (my own favourite).
I don't know why I didn't think to look up the Bluebell Fairy at the time - what a waste of a perfect opportunity for a post that was scheduled for coronation day! 🤣 Thank you so much for including the poem here! 😊
Such a delight, Rebecca! As I read, I could actually smell the blue bells. I have so many fond memories of walking through the Galloway forest and the cool, perfumed air. The little close-up photo is so sweet -- their little Bluebell slumped shoulders and shy drooping heads. This was a perfectly sequenced article, with commentary, nostalgia, bits from science and history and literature. You brought it all together so beautifully. Thanks for the inspiration of both subject matter and excellence in writing.
Awwww Sharron, that's really kind of you - thank you for these lovely comments! I'd been wanting to write another nature-y piece for a while, because I really enjoyed writing my earlier post about squirrels. And the bluebells are just so lovely at the moment that they made a really nice subject to explore! 😊
Thanks, Alison! And gosh, I wish I'd remembered that reference - I read I Capture the Castle for the first time last year and absolutely loved it! I shall have to look it up! 😊
🤣 I cannot believe I missed it...! Actually I think it was your mention of 'ICTC' in a post - or a comment on somebody else's - that had pricked my interest in reading it, and then I found it in a local phonebox library. Couldn't believe my luck!
I'm learning so much from the comments on this post! For my own satisfaction I am going to do a bit of a rewrite - not to replace this one (because this post is so representative of my learning curve, and I want to keep it real!), but behind the scenes. Substack is SO great for learning from other people - such a gift! Thank you so much, Alison, for being part of that. ♥️
Such a beautiful string of images. I've never walked through a bluebell wood and can only imagine the scent and swathe of beauty.
But my preference is actually for the wood anemone. I'm currently nurturing white wood anemones in my own garden - not easy, but if I manage to pull it off, I'll be thrilled and I'll think of this glorious newsletter as part of the inspiration.
Thank you, Prue! And the wood anemones are amazing - so dainty and ethereal. How wonderful to have them in your garden. I've got some anemone blanda, which are purple and almost as dainty as wood anemones, but not nearly so beautiful. 😊
Great post! Love bluebells and their gentle fragrance. We're lucky to have a wood behind us that is filled with them - a three minute walk and we're surrounded. There's something about the peace of a bluebell wood that can't be found anywhere else. Great photos, too - thanks for this!
What a lovely tribute to this native flower. I love that the forest carpets are ancient and have taken centuries to establish. That does make them sort of magical.
Interesting to know that Australian bluebells are Spanish! Definitely unscented, but very pretty and happy to slowly expand their place in my cottage garden. What a delightful read. Thanks so much dear Rebecca.
Thanks to Julie Hester letting me know about a very coronation day specific bluebell reference I have updated my post to include the first verse of 'The Bluebell Fairy' by Cicely Mary Barker. Thanks, Julie!
A lovely read and visual feast for a spring morning. (I’m increasingly convinced that you live in an Enid Blyton book.)💙
Thanks so much, Bryn, and 🤣🤣🤣!
(I think you're right! If you ever catch me using the phrase 'lashings and lashings of ginger beer' please let me know that I've gone too far!)
I was able to transplant a few from one patch to another area. I hope they will spread there too. Slowly I take it from your article. Forty years in a deciduous wooded wetlands area some Bluebells have taken over in two areas. Old flowerbeds. They are beautiful.
Oh, that's brilliant, Jennifer! My parents have some wild ones in their garden which have encroached from the gorgeous patch of woodland down at the bottom - very special! 😊
Gorgeous photos throughout! The one in the woods is magical ... hovering purple mist 💜
That's so kind, Claire - thank you! 😊
Ah the photos - bluebells are just glorious aren’t they. We have some that come up under a bench in our front garden. I painted it cream a few years back and I keep the seeds from the bluebells once they’ve gone to seed knowing they take at least 3/4 years to flower. 🥰
Thanks so much, Claire! Bluebells against a cream background sound glorious - and it's brilliant that you've naturalised them in your garden! 😊
Gorgeous photos. I'm recalling my (American) daughter's early obsession with the Flower Fairies books, and just looked up the Bluebell Fairy. Here on coronation day it's perhaps appropriate:
My hundred thousand bells of blue,
The splendour of the Spring,
They carpet all the woods anew
With royalty of sapphire hue;
The Primrose is the Queen, ’tis true.
But surely I am King!
Ah yes,
The peerless Woodland King!
Oh my goodness me, Julie - thank you so, so much for this lovely comment, and for the glorious reference! I wish I'd thought of the Flower Fairies - I loved them too - and in fact just this last week Cicely Mary Barker's books popped into my head, but in relation to the Apple Blossom Fairy (my own favourite).
I don't know why I didn't think to look up the Bluebell Fairy at the time - what a waste of a perfect opportunity for a post that was scheduled for coronation day! 🤣 Thank you so much for including the poem here! 😊
*kicks self soundly* 🤣
And I’m glad to learn of the Brontë poem from you!
😊
Such a delight, Rebecca! As I read, I could actually smell the blue bells. I have so many fond memories of walking through the Galloway forest and the cool, perfumed air. The little close-up photo is so sweet -- their little Bluebell slumped shoulders and shy drooping heads. This was a perfectly sequenced article, with commentary, nostalgia, bits from science and history and literature. You brought it all together so beautifully. Thanks for the inspiration of both subject matter and excellence in writing.
Awwww Sharron, that's really kind of you - thank you for these lovely comments! I'd been wanting to write another nature-y piece for a while, because I really enjoyed writing my earlier post about squirrels. And the bluebells are just so lovely at the moment that they made a really nice subject to explore! 😊
I love bluebells and could feel myself relaxing as I read your beautifully written, wonderfully illustrated and informative post.
Awwww, thanks Terry, for these very kind words. 😊
😊
This was wonderful to read!! Thank you for writing it so well and for the delightful photos!!! 💙💙💙
Sue, you're very kind - I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so very much. 😊
"The Bluebell" poem was a divine gift. Thank you for sharing, Rebecca. These images look like a slice of heaven.
Thank you so much, Punit! I love that the bluebell is what always brought Anne Brontë back to her childhood. Very special. 😊
Thank you for so many wonderful photos today. Your post today made me smile...Spring is here! :)
Oh that's so kind, Julie, thank you - I'm really glad I made you smile! 😊
This was beautiful. You also reminded me of Cassandra in I Capture the Castle, talking about the bluebells in an English spring.
Thanks, Alison! And gosh, I wish I'd remembered that reference - I read I Capture the Castle for the first time last year and absolutely loved it! I shall have to look it up! 😊
There’s even a bit about a bluebell-scented perfume! Thought of it instantly (it’s my favourite book).
🤣 I cannot believe I missed it...! Actually I think it was your mention of 'ICTC' in a post - or a comment on somebody else's - that had pricked my interest in reading it, and then I found it in a local phonebox library. Couldn't believe my luck!
I'm learning so much from the comments on this post! For my own satisfaction I am going to do a bit of a rewrite - not to replace this one (because this post is so representative of my learning curve, and I want to keep it real!), but behind the scenes. Substack is SO great for learning from other people - such a gift! Thank you so much, Alison, for being part of that. ♥️
Such a beautiful string of images. I've never walked through a bluebell wood and can only imagine the scent and swathe of beauty.
But my preference is actually for the wood anemone. I'm currently nurturing white wood anemones in my own garden - not easy, but if I manage to pull it off, I'll be thrilled and I'll think of this glorious newsletter as part of the inspiration.
Thank you, Prue! And the wood anemones are amazing - so dainty and ethereal. How wonderful to have them in your garden. I've got some anemone blanda, which are purple and almost as dainty as wood anemones, but not nearly so beautiful. 😊
Great post! Love bluebells and their gentle fragrance. We're lucky to have a wood behind us that is filled with them - a three minute walk and we're surrounded. There's something about the peace of a bluebell wood that can't be found anywhere else. Great photos, too - thanks for this!
Thanks Bryan - and how lovely that you've got such a gorgeous treat on your doorstep, too! 😊
What a lovely tribute to this native flower. I love that the forest carpets are ancient and have taken centuries to establish. That does make them sort of magical.
That's so kind - thank you, Jacquie! There is something 'other-worldly' about them. 😊
Interesting to know that Australian bluebells are Spanish! Definitely unscented, but very pretty and happy to slowly expand their place in my cottage garden. What a delightful read. Thanks so much dear Rebecca.
Gosh, that's so interesting, Beth! And the Spanish (Australian!) ones are very pretty in their own right. Thank you so much! 😊