Spanish Bluebells

The Spanish bluebells have put on a real show this year, they are really taking over. The shaded area just outside the patio doors is the last place for them to come into bloom. Reading below I think we have a selection of hybrids because ours are scented.

Native bluebells...

• have narrow leaves, usually about 1cm or 1.5cm (about half an inch) wide

• have deep blue (sometimes white, rarely pink), narrow, tube-like flowers, with the very tips curled right back

• have flowers mostly on one side of the stem only, and distinctly drooping, or nodding, at the top

• have a distinctly sweet, fruity scent

• inside the flowers, the anthers with the pollen are usually cream.

Spanish bluebells...

• have broad leaves often 3cm (over an inch) wide

• have paler blue (quite often pink and white), conical or bell-shaped flowers that have spread-out tips

• have flowers all around the upright stem

• have almost no scent or an unpleasant onion scent

• inside the flowers, the anthers with the pollen usually blue (although this may vary a little).

The hybrid between these two is also very common – they’re actually more abundant than Spanish bluebells now - with a whole range of intermediate characters. The hybrids are often abundant in gardens, along hedgerows and road verges and in woods near to urban areas.