Bluebells in May

The bluebell is our national flower – and so it should be, for there are more bluebells growing wild in England than in the rest of the world put together. They come into their own in May and the scented blue haze of massed bluebells under dappled woodland shade, is one of nature’s delights.
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This bulbous perennial is extremely well adapted to deciduous woodland. The young shoots can penetrate a thick layer of leaf litter, flowering before the canopy closes in late spring. It is visited by a range of insects, although mainly pollinated by the bumblebee. The Bluebell is included in the list of ancient woodland indicator plants.
Away from woodland, it is commonly found on hedge banks
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It takes around five to seven years for a bluebell seed to mature into a flowering plant, so colonies take a long time to establish. If a bluebell’s leaves are crushed, they die back because they can no longer photosynthesise, and the plant will take years to recover.

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​We have many beautiful woodlands in the 4Bs, and many of them contain native bluebells. One of my favourite walks in May is off Snowerhill Rd in south Betchworth, along pathway 454 through Ridings Copse and Knights Copse. This location illustrates how wild garlic and bluebells often grow in the same wood but hardly ever grow together. Wild garlic with its broad leaves comes into leaf earlier than bluebell and so may have an advantage. Bluebells need more light than wild garlic and so like the dappled light of a woodland before the tree canopy shades the ground.  The presence of bluebells and wild garlic is an indicator that the woodland has existed for a very long time.

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