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Gardening

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Original poster

More bluebells than normal?

34 replies

Porridgeislife · 26/04/2024 07:38

I live in the greenbelt and I’ve never seen so many bluebells as we have this year. Even the verges have big thick mounds of them.

I didn’t think my garden had many bluebells but they’ve popped up absolutely everywhere this year. Is it just my area? Or has anyone else got amazing displays of bluebells this year?

OP posts:
Deliadidit · 26/04/2024 07:39

Yes! They are so prolific this year, I noticed this too when I’ve been out walking, absolutely beautiful.

TheTerribleMaster · 26/04/2024 07:40

Some popped up in my garden that I'm sure I've never seen before! 😂

eurochick · 26/04/2024 07:44

We own a little patch of woodland and had about three bluebells last year. We have dozens this year. The wild garlic has also gone nuts this year.

EventuallyDecluttered · 26/04/2024 07:44

Yes, we live about a mile from a huge bluebell wood which is fantastic but i am noticing them in clumps on grass verges everywhere too. We have a patch of Spanish ones in the garden which were there when we moved in 20 years ago but yesterday for the first time ever I also noticed a couple of clumps of English ones in the lawn (we don't mow the edges at this time of year because they are full of self-seeded primroses).

greengreyblue · 26/04/2024 07:45

We have the Spanish ones in our garden every year but we have not got any extra ones.

user09876543 · 26/04/2024 07:47

Mine have actually been reduced this year.

Seagrassbasket · 26/04/2024 07:48

Yes I would say I’ve noticed them more this year! I wonder why this is?

Overtheatlantic · 26/04/2024 08:22

I’ve definitely noticed the bluebells in our garden this year, not least because we did not plant them and nothing else is blooming except 5 geums.

Willmafrockfit · 26/04/2024 08:23

i love the bluebells,
i cant say there are more than normal but perhaps they love the weather this year.

Calling · 26/04/2024 08:31

There are definitely more this year and for the first time, they have popped up in my garden.

Gsyllama · 26/04/2024 08:34

Yes, the bluebells have been amazing this year (SW England) but my tulips were rubbish

CMOTDibbler · 26/04/2024 08:38

They are really good this year. In the woods (which is always good) they are so dense and the smell is incredible, but the road verges have way more than usual and I've noticed them popping up in new places too

HereForTheFreeLunch · 26/04/2024 08:41

Yes to both bluebells and wild garlic.
On a side note, what can I do with wild garlic? It's all over the garden.

RosesAndHellebores · 26/04/2024 08:45

Yes to the bluebells and wild garlic. I really dislike the bluebells in the garden. They belong in woods and "wild" gardens. The bulbs go hugely deep. Usually I don't let them seed and dig them out and didn't last year, therefore they have tripled.

Willmafrockfit · 26/04/2024 08:45

yes i have just been reading about invasive spanish bluebell, shouldnt plant near to woodland

EventuallyDecluttered · 26/04/2024 08:47

Apparently the threat from Spanish bluebells to English ones is not thought to be as big a threat as it once was, a family member has been studying it.

FlickyCrumble · 26/04/2024 08:47

I was wondering about this and came to the conclusion that my daffs bloomed then my tulips and now my bluebells. I’m sure they overlap more In previous years making them less obvious.

Willmafrockfit · 26/04/2024 08:48

EventuallyDecluttered · 26/04/2024 08:47

Apparently the threat from Spanish bluebells to English ones is not thought to be as big a threat as it once was, a family member has been studying it.

Complete Guide to Spanish Bluebells | BBC Gardeners World Magazine

i was just reading this

Lightfrost · 26/04/2024 08:55

Maybe it's the very wet winter? Where we live, we've got wild orchids in the garden. Most years we have a few, but this year they're everywhere. I read up about them and discovered they rely on a fungus in their roots to grow and expand; the wet weather must have helped with that I guess. Just looked up bluebells and they also rely on a similar fungus. So all that rain could have helped?

LauderSyme · 26/04/2024 08:55

Yes prolific bluebells and wild garlic. I keep stopping whilst walking to admire the bluebells 🤗

@HereForTheFreeLunch yes I was going to suggest pesto too.

The plants do multiply madly; if you decide they have to go, make sure you remove all their tiny little white bulbs. There are so many and it is easy to miss some so it's almost guaranteed you'll have to do a second cull.

MrsSkylerWhite · 26/04/2024 08:57

Yes, we have! NW coast. Not just more but taller.

AppleTree16 · 26/04/2024 08:59

Lightfrost · 26/04/2024 08:55

Maybe it's the very wet winter? Where we live, we've got wild orchids in the garden. Most years we have a few, but this year they're everywhere. I read up about them and discovered they rely on a fungus in their roots to grow and expand; the wet weather must have helped with that I guess. Just looked up bluebells and they also rely on a similar fungus. So all that rain could have helped?

Oh this is interesting because our bluebells have gone wild but NONE of my hyacinths bloomed and neither have any of my pheasant eye daffs 😭

EventuallyDecluttered · 26/04/2024 09:24

I saw some pheasant eye daffs im a grass verge the other day.

Whether or not the Spanish bluebell really threatens the English one I deadhead my Spanish as soon as they fade every years, will do it in the next few days and they have never spread within the garden. Try as I might I cannot dig all the bulbs out though. I didn't plant them, but also had no idea we were so close to woodlands of native ones when we moved here, but I do my best not to let them spread just in case.