Field of Science

Small, economy version of Bluebell Wood

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and it can be true for gardens as well.  Several years ago on a botanical geek trip that included the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Mrs. Phactor was quite taken by their Bluebell Wood, a shady expanse of large trees with an understory of solid bluebell shown here from their what's in bloom page of their webpage.
These are not the bluebells that North Americans are used to; these are actually Spanish bluebells, Hyacinthoides hispanica, and yes, this genus is more like hyacinths than our trumpet like native bluebells of the borage family.  "Bluebells" is a pretty common common name. To make a long story short, Mrs. Phactor decided to duplicate the bluebell wood, except the original is several times larger than our whole estate, so the plans had to be scaled down. Here's the result.  
OK it's not quite the same vista with only one oak tree making the "wood" and it's a different species of bluebell, H. non-scripta, English bluebells.  But given the size difference, the comparison is still favorable.  Hope the Brooklyn Botanic Garden isn't jealous. Considering that this was formerly all lily of the valley, it took some real dedicated effort to get them out and the bluebells in.  Say something nice about her bluebells.

4 comments:

William M. Connolley said...

Her bluebells are nice :-). And its good to see proper English ones. Mine get eaten by the muntjacs, I think.

Anonymous said...

Dearest Mrs Phactor,

beautiful and definitely worth the effort!

i wonder if the bluebell you have is actually the hybrid Hyacinthoides x massartiana?

http://sppaccounts.bsbi.org.uk/content/hyacinthoides-non-scripta-h-hispanica-h-x-massartiana

BrianO

Diane said...

These came with the house, pink and white as well as blue. I just cut the remaining
flowers to prevent seeding as they are invading new areas. Contrary to descriptions mine are definitely scented. They don't look like the English type though as they are upright and and the flowers grow round the stem. Do yours have a scent? They look
lovely in any case.

towhee said...

There us something to be said for a Camas meadow too, but it may need more specialized conditions.
http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000mElhNdQuQG0/fit=1000x750/Camas-at-Sagehen-Meadow.jpg