In my garden, we have a mixture of Spanish bluebells that were there when my parents bought the house and native bluebells, neither of which have flowered yet, but out on my walk today I spotted the first flowering Bluebells close to my house.
There are a few differences between the native Bluebells and Spanish Bluebells
- English bluebells have a scent, Spanish don’t
- English Bluebells have a drooping stem, Spanish ones have a straight stem
- English Bluebells have narrow leaves (under 1.5cm wide), Spanish ones have wider leaves.
- English Bluebells have deep blue, violet flowers which curl back at the ends, Spanish ones are paler and straighter
- English Bluebells have cream coloured anthers, Spanish ones mainly have blue anthers.
Also spent some time today watching the visitors, like this blue tit, to the garden.
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I heard that Blue Tits are dying off in Germany. How are they doing in Great Britain?
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I started with English but think they quickly hybridised. Either way, still enjoy seeing them and still get visitors.
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I think some in our garden are hybridised, especially the front garden
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