GARDEN WILDLIFE

by Alex White

PART NINE – BLUEBELLS 

In my garden, we have a mixture of Spanish bluebells that were there when my parents bought the house and native bluebells, neither of which have flowered yet, but out on my walk today I spotted the first flowering Bluebells close to my house.

There are a few differences between the native Bluebells and Spanish Bluebells

• English bluebells have a scent, Spanish don’t
• English Bluebells have a drooping stem, Spanish ones have a straight stem
• English Bluebells have narrow leaves (under 1.5cm wide), Spanish ones have wider leaves.
• English Bluebells have deep blue, violet flowers which curl back at the ends, Spanish ones are paler and straighter
• English Bluebells have cream coloured anthers, Spanish ones mainly have blue anthers.

Also spent some time today watching the visitors, like this blue tit, to the garden.