Bluebells are gorgeous flowers. So what better way to celebrate them, than by planting a bluebell grove?!
In my previous post Why I'm a Wannabe Farmer I talked about my dream of farming. In a nutshell; I'm to inherit 40 acres of land that's been left to go wild over three decades. The challenge? To move there and start a new, farming life. There are a few hurdles in the way that prevent any immediate move so over the coming two to three years, I'll be working the land and 'preparing', if you will, for our arrival.
So far, I've begun planting a 3.5 acre wildflower meadow, have young saplings growing at home for later transplant, have installed owl boxes, sown the beginnings of a brand new English bluebell grove, started to clear bramble thickets and undertaken a new project restoring and revitalizing a couple of old ponds.
The challenge and goal? Nurture the land back into life, both in terms of biodiversity and land fertility, so that when I'm given the green light to move and build a home, I can hit the ground running when it comes to launching the small farming business.
Isn't the above picture just stunning?
I LOVE bluebells. Actually, I should be more specific. I love ENGLISH BLUEBELLS. See, the problem is, that little Spanish invader. Hyacinthoides hispanica is a bluebell hailing from the Iberian peninsula. It's very pretty flower that comes in the typical blue, but can also be seen in pink and white. And I'll admit, in it's place, I'm quite fond of it. Where I'm not fond of it, however, is in the English countryside.
Why?
Because it cross pollinates with our British variety (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) and that's where the problems begin. The sad truth is that Spanish bluebells are extremely efficient at doing their job - growing, flowering, pollinating and reproducing. But this means that the native English bluebell is being somewhat diluted. I like to hero native flora and fauna where possible and so, as part of my farming plans, I want to establish a native Bluebell grove. The other BIG advantage of English bluebells is that they had a strong, sweet perfume too - something that Spanish variety lacks.
Sowing the Bluebell Grove
This time (October) two years ago, the first planting started. I ordered 100 bulbs and on one of our farming workparty trips, we popped in the bulbs and waited with anticipation for the following spring. Would they grow? Was the site I'd chosen be suitable?
A few bulbs were pulled up by rabbits and squirrels, but they don't taste very nice so for the most part, they were left alone. The following spring - FLOWERS?!
Now...the keen eyed of you will notice a problem here...
Disaster Strikes
For those of you with a good eye, you'll notice these ARE NOT English Bluebells. Instead, they seem to be some hybridised form (they're not true Spanish bluebells either). I was furious. And disheartened. After all, my entire idea was to create a British Bluebell Grove, not a hybrid one.
Still, life goes on.
I contacted the Woodland Trust and asked for their advice which was quite simple; don't bother trying to take all of these out as it will be impossible. Instead, keeping planting English bluebells, and pull off the flowers of hybrid varieties so they're not able to sow themselves. Over time, the newly planted English variety should be able to take over.
So, in autumn 2016, I started all over again as you can see here:
Fingers Crossed for 2018
Timing when to see bluebells can be tricky and unfortauntely, I MISSED this year! I was up at the farm when the flower stems were just starting to appear, but by the time I managed to get back to site, they'd gone over. So, fingers crossed that when I head up in 2018, the little pop of blue here and there will be the right variety this time. Then, over the course of several years, they should grow, sow themselves and, hopefully, turn this little patch into a lovely new English Bluebell Grove!