Xela's Garden

Spanish Bluebell [S]

Genus: Hyacinthoides.

Species: Hyacinthoides hispanica.

Planted ? Shenstone front garden below tree canopies

Our familiar native fragrant bluebell or wild hyacinth has had several name changes, at various times masquerading as a scilla, hyacinthus or endymion. This instability has done nothing to reduce its status in everyone's affections, for it is the archetypal bulb for planting and gathering en masse - when bluebells are in flower, spring has truly arrived. There are charming pink and white varieties, but the blue ones capture the imagination most, especially when planted in drifts under shrubs and trees, and in patches of grass.

Size: Grows to a height of around 40cms.

Distribution: Found throughout the UK.

Flowering months: April to June.

Habitat: Found mainly in woodlands, especially coppiced woods.

Special features: Sometimes called 'Wild Hyacinths', bluebells are normally found growing in wooded areas throughout the U.K. The bluebell wood in flower seems to be a very British spectacle. Nowhere else in the world do they grow in such abundance.

In early spring the bluebell bulbs push up shiny narrow leaves through the leaf litter on the woodland floor. The delicate bell-shaped flowers hang from a straight central stem.

Bluebells flower early in the year, between April and June. In this way they can make good use of all the available light, before the trees above them become covered with leaves, and block out the sun.

When the bluebells start flowering, many butterflies are just starting to become active after their winter hibernation and can take advantage of their nectar.

A few years ago gardeners started planting imported Spanish bluebell bulbs, and now these Spanish flowers are taking over! The Spanish variety will grow almost anywhere, and many of them have got into the British countryside where they are breeding with our own native species and producing a hybrid.

The Spanish variety has blue bell-shaped flowers, but that's where the similarity ends. Our native bluebells have a delicate scent, while the Spanish variety has hardly any. Our native bluebells have rich blue coloured blooms on just one side of a blue stem, while the Spanish bluebell is larger and straighter with pale coloured flowers on all sides.

Conservationists are working to stop the spread of the Spanish variety in Britain and help save our own native bluebells from extinction.

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