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| Bluebell Wood meandering path |
Bluebell Woods Dalcrue
Well if you’re in Perthshire over the next few weeks you’re in for a glorious and enchanting sight as our native Bluebells – Hyacinthoides non-scripta are starting to bloom. They’re an iconic spring bulb that en masse turn our local ancient woods in May into a haze of purple and blue spires. The wildflowers take advantage of the leafless canopy from the native broad wood trees. As a consequence they grow, flower and finally set seed just as the foliage canopy above cloaks the woodland floor.
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| Bluebells – Hyacinthoides non-scripta | Endymion non-scriptus |
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| Bluebell Woods Dalcrue – Native Broad Wood Trees |
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| A blue haze of native wildflowers with a faint scent of honey |
The Poetic Touch
Panpipes or trombones with overhung necks and crisp ruffled bells.
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| Bluebell Woods Dalcrue – Crisp ruffled bells |
“They give one a fancy of panpipes and of some instrument with stops, a trombone perhaps. The overhung necks – for growing they are a little more than a staff with a simple crook put in water, where they stiffen, they take stronger turns, in the head like sheephooks, or, more is waved throughout, like the waves riding through a whip that is being smacked – what with these overhung necks and what with the crisp ruffled bells dropping mostly on one side and the gloss these have at their footstalks they have an air of the knights at chess.” (Hopkins, Journals, Ideas and Poetry).
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| Bluebell Woods Dalcrue – Fairy Flowers |
“Bluebells in Hodder wood, all hanging their heads one way. I caught as
well as I could while my companions talked the Greek righteousness of
their beauty, the lovely – what people call – ‘gracious’ bidding one to
another or all one way, the level or stage or shire of colour they make
hanging in the air a foot above the grass, and a notable glare the eye
may abstract and sever from the blue colour – of light beating up from
so many glassy heads, which like water is good to float their deepest
instress upon the mind.” (Hopkins, 1873)
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| Falls of sky colour |
“In the little wood opposite the light they stood in blackish spreads or sheddings like spots on a snake. The heads are then like thongs and solemn in grain and grape-colour. But in the clough through the light they come in falls of sky-colour washing the brows and slacks of the ground with vein-blue, thickening at the double, vertical themselves and the young grass and brake-fern combed vertical, but the brake struck the upright of all this with winged transomes.
It was a lovely sight. – The bluebells in your hand baffle you with their inscape, made to every sense. If you draw your fingers through them they are lodged and struggle with a shock of wet heads; the long stalks rub and click and flatten to a fan on one another like your fingers themselves would when you passed the palms hard across one another, making a brittle rub and jostle like the noise of a hurdle strained by leaning against; then there is the faint honey smell……..”(Hopkins, 1871)
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| A Sea of Bluebells |
Ellie
These are lovely pictures, bluebells are so pretty. I have a strong memory fom when I was very small of walking through a forest full of bluebells.
We have got them here but not in any great number yet.
ann
Well, Rosie, you certainly have awakened the travelmania in my heart. Your post is beautiful, poetic, and inspirational. I want to see the blue bells and look for fairies.
Pieces of Sunshine
To walk amongst not just the glorious greens and differing shades of brown which dress nature but also a carpet of colourful flowers must be truly magnificent. Here just for a short season so as we never tire of their splendour.
The Sage Butterfly
This was a walk in beauty. To walk in the wood or a field filled with these colorful blooms must be heaven on earth.
Kalantikan
Oh Rosie, it makes your woodlands more enchanting, how i wish to see it just even once! I love it when even your weeds know how to organize themselves, scattered in majestic splendour, no wonder the fairies love to stay there! I've only seen spring flowers under trees in Australia and they are all white, the flannel flowers! It is wonderful too.
James Missier
Its really amazing to enjoy the carpet of bluebells. And truly its just so enchanting to connect fairies with them.
I can imagine fairies making home in this lovely place.
naturestimeline.com
I like you, love a stroll through a woodland carpeted in these wonderful flowers. Bluebells were flowering early this year in my local patch, with 25th March being a date noted for their first emergence. They are now at their peak or even starting to go over around my way but there is still time to see all they offer.
Best Wishes
Tony Powell
Floridagirl
Well, I *wish* I were going to be in Perthshire in upcoming weeks to witness such an enchanting and magical scene! These sights are very foreign and quite soothing to my Florida eyes. Thanks for sharing your blue-carpet walk with us….
Richard Havenga
Rosie:
What captivates me most is anticipating what I might discover around that next bend in the path.
Richard
Alistair
Hi Rosie, the thing that captivates me most is being in the countryside enjoying the peace and tranquillity without the constant traffic noise which we have. The bluebell wood is very beautiful.
Costin Comba
Beautiful pictures. I love that close up. Great landscape. Have a nice week. Greetings from Romania.
Tina´s PicStory
thanks for joining us with your lovely blue flowers! welcome to tina´s picstory 🙂
Madge Bloom
Such lovely woodland views…. I'd love to take a quiet walk there… Thank you for sharing on 'Weekly Top Shot!'
Lucy
A peaceful post of a peaceful scene.
I didn't know about running one's hands against the flowers. I'll have to try it.
I thought you left a message about a tree post but can't find it. Did you? Was it for this?