Wenlock's Wood. The road to faerie

[cmcmck]

Most of the ancient forest we have here in north Shropshire is oak woodland with birch and rowan on the higher hills.

I grew up in the southeastern county of Kent where, being downland, a lot of the woodland is chestnut and chestnut woodland provides the finest displays of bluebells anywhere in England.

Locally, we have the chestnut woodland known as Wenlock's Wood and this year's bloom has been magical!































I'm only sorry I can't share the scent with you!

Comments

[elainegrey]

That is a glorious display! I've never seen anything like that in eastern US forests (because they were all cut down and plowed under) but i've learned about Virginia bluebells, which are in the same family as borage.

Are your bluebells spring ephemerals -- the whole plant dies back once the tree canopy comes in? -- or do the leaves persist all year? And are they in the lily family?

[cmcmck]

They do die right back. They are hyacynthoids so spend their Winter months underground as bulbs. The ferns will come next in succession and they'll die back at the end of Summer.