In folklore, bluebells would ring at daybreak to call fairies to the woods. No wonder they have amazing powers to draw us into the countryside to enjoy this natural spring spectacle.
I have spent the weekend walking in the Chilterns Hills, on the lookout for my first bluebells of the season. Like Wimbledon and strawberries, bluebells are very much part of the English season, but without the cost. From mid April, the excited alerts on the socials begin. But it’s a hard call to make as it’s not as though someone has pressed the switch and ‘boom’, there they all are! They know when it’s the right time, depending very much on their location and sunshine. Sadly we’ve not had much!
In the Ashridge Estate, many of the old majestic trees lie smashed after the winter storms, leaving a hole in the tree canopy and a jumble of scattered branches. There has been some tidying up, but no doubt the forest will absorb their nutrients back into the ecosystem and animals will find themselves new homes.
Distinctively bell-shaped, these perennial herbs spend the majority of their time underground as bulbs, emerging to flower from April sometimes until the end of May. So no rush! They are found at the roadside and in great swathes across the woodlands, at their best before the leaf cover puts the forest floor in shadow.
Despite taking seven years from seed to first flower, once they get going, they will colonise a woodland. I love them, and go in search every year, taking even more photo’s as no view or flower is the same.
Common names: bluebell, English bluebell, British bluebell, English harebell, wild hyacinth, cuckoo’s boots, granfer griggles, witches’ thimbles, lady’s nightcap, fairy flower and crow’s toes. My favourite is cuckoo’s boots!
All content and images are copyright of Mary Tebje and can only be reproduced with permission.
Getting there
Whilst Dockey Wood Ashridge Estate - National Trust is popular, avoid the crowds and spend time in other accessible woodland locations to enjoy the flowers: Hughenden National Trust, Penn woods, Aston Rowant, West Wycombe Park - National Trust and in the woods behind Great Missenden.
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