Brilliant bluebells!

Hyacinthoides non-scripta, carpet of bluebells, bluebell woods, bulbs for your garden

A carpet of bluebells in deciduous woodland has to be one of the most enchanting sights, at this time of year.  And even if you are neither interested in the botanical nor the ecological value of these plants then surely you can’t but be moved by the sheer pleasure of the visual experience.  Many artists have been.

I happened across these English bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta to the side of the N71 road just after it leaves Killarney near Muckross.  Covering a huge area underneath some Sycamore trees they were a brake-inducing sight.  And the insects were having a field-day, providing me with an opportunity to take this snap.

Bluebell flowers, bee on a flower, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, bluebell woods

Incidentally, the older botanical genus for the English bluebell was Endymion not Hyacinthoides.  Endymion, from Greek mythology, was a beautiful youth who slept perpetually on Mount Latimus and was kissed by Selene, the moon goddess. It is also the name of a poem by John Keats…’A thing of beauty is a joy for ever…’  I love these literary references to this beautiful plant.

If you want to grow them in your garden, then I suggest you go for a naturalistic planting arrangement under some trees or in an area receiving partial or dappled shade.  Bluebell bulbs are planted in the autumn.

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