Blue bells

those look lovely - mine are just starting to flower but unfortunately they are spanish brutes and taking over my whole garden - still I guess I have to enjoy them for the two weeks worth of flowers and then get the strimmer ready for when the threaten to set seed!

 

Was watching a recent episode of gardeners world. A.Titchmarsh was saying bluebells are now protected and it is an offence to collect them from the wild.
John.

 

Thats right you are not supposed to collect bluebells..and its easy to get seed ..to grow your own...I suppose if you know somewhere is going to be built on and their are wildflowers their and you rescue them i guess thats okay..as they would have been destroyed..I dont think anyone on here would go along digging big portions of wildflowers up..and probably taking the odd seed isnt going to hurt anyone..Its the idiots around that go destroying them thats the problem..some people would go along digging them up in large quantitys..they are the problems...

 

Unless you get the wrong type of seeds, I collected some seed whilst on a trip to the lake district and ended up bringing that horrid Indian Balsam back - took us ages to get rid of it!

 

waco..i am worse than you if i go anywhere their are plants i cant keep my hands to myself..i went to the botanical gardens last year and came home with pockets full of seeds..like you i havnt got a clue what i picked..this year i am going to label seeds and be tidy!!..

 

Oh yes and pigs fly!

 

My garden is full of bluebells but I think mine must be the spanish type as they are spreading everywhere in pink, blue and white.

Is that the answer then to strim them before they set seed or to dig them up completely?

They do look lovely at the moment though.

 

Take a look at the flowers / stems and leaves first - and compare them with both English and Spanish. English bluebells do occassionally throw up blue and indeed white flowers - I have both English and Spanish bluebells in my garden and they are very different.

Spanish bluebells have broader and more vigorous leaves, flowers are more upright and appear on both sides of the stem. Flowers tend to be a lighter blue too.

English bluebells have a narrower leaf, flowers tend to curve over, and appear only on one side.

 

Alas - the bluebells in my local woodland are in decline. Sheets of the lovely wood anemones stretch out in white and pink, but like all members of the buttercup family, they exude toxins from underground nodes. This photo was taken a few years ago, but I couldn't take it today.

 

Lady Chatterley springs to mind.