Bluebell Wood, Shepley West Yorkshire
Bluebell Woods are a peculiarly British phenomenon. Although the flower is not restricted to Britain, it is only found in "carpets" in Britain. For the record, Bluebells are native in Belgium, Netherlands and parts of France. They are also probably introduced elsewhere in Europe. Poets and authors have been inspired by the spectacle of Bluebells, and people even apparently travel to Britain in spring to experience Bluebell woods. I find Bluebells quite difficult to photograph well. They always look better in real life than in photos, maybe because in life they are accompanied by spring birdsong and that wonderful scent. One problem with photographing Bluebells is that they are quite evenly spaced with a lot of green between. So to get the carpet effect you need to get down low and ideally have the ground sloping away from you. I thought I had better post this quickly while they are still current as I know they are already fading in the south. The odd scientific name is Hyacinthoides non-scripta. The first part means that Bluebells resemble a Hyacinth, and non-scripta means without markings, as the blue trumpets are entirely without markings. There are worries that the Spanish Bluebell (H. hispanica), which is a popular garden flower, is escaping into the wild. I have seen Spanish Bluebells wild in Yorkshire and I frequently see hybrids between the two. The worry is that our quintessentially British Bluebell woods might be hybridised out of existence. Native Bluebells usually droop at the tip, have a one-sided flower head and the petals curl right back. The Spanish Bluebells are usually paler, more upright and robust, with flowers on all sides, and uncurled petals. Here is a photograph of Spanish Bluebells I took a while ago www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/3717048663/in/photostream/
Bluebell Wood, Shepley West Yorkshire
Bluebell Woods are a peculiarly British phenomenon. Although the flower is not restricted to Britain, it is only found in "carpets" in Britain. For the record, Bluebells are native in Belgium, Netherlands and parts of France. They are also probably introduced elsewhere in Europe. Poets and authors have been inspired by the spectacle of Bluebells, and people even apparently travel to Britain in spring to experience Bluebell woods. I find Bluebells quite difficult to photograph well. They always look better in real life than in photos, maybe because in life they are accompanied by spring birdsong and that wonderful scent. One problem with photographing Bluebells is that they are quite evenly spaced with a lot of green between. So to get the carpet effect you need to get down low and ideally have the ground sloping away from you. I thought I had better post this quickly while they are still current as I know they are already fading in the south. The odd scientific name is Hyacinthoides non-scripta. The first part means that Bluebells resemble a Hyacinth, and non-scripta means without markings, as the blue trumpets are entirely without markings. There are worries that the Spanish Bluebell (H. hispanica), which is a popular garden flower, is escaping into the wild. I have seen Spanish Bluebells wild in Yorkshire and I frequently see hybrids between the two. The worry is that our quintessentially British Bluebell woods might be hybridised out of existence. Native Bluebells usually droop at the tip, have a one-sided flower head and the petals curl right back. The Spanish Bluebells are usually paler, more upright and robust, with flowers on all sides, and uncurled petals. Here is a photograph of Spanish Bluebells I took a while ago www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/3717048663/in/photostream/