EPHEMERAL AND MEMORABLE,
ur native bluebell,, growing en masse, never fails to entrance. ‘We all find a haze of bluebells beneath beeches more magical than anything we can create,’ wrote Beth Chatto. To Elizabethan Britons, bluebells were enchanted, and heaven forbid you hear their bell-shaped heads ring, for death would likely follow. Links with folklore were still prevalent more than three centuries later, as (the first book in the series was published in 1923) and her assertion that the bluebell be ‘the peerless Woodland King’. Deep blue H. non-scripta, a perennial bulb, flourishes in the humus-rich soils of Northamptonshire and the Chilterns, and on limestone ridges. Young shoots push their way up through leaf litter to allow their flowers to open in the dappled shade of trees, such as beech and oak. The bluebell is a natural indicator that helps us to identify ancient woodlands, where it has grown for hundreds of years. Rich in pollen and nectar, it is also a vital food source for many native insects.
