Plant Spotlight: English Bluebells
Last fall I planted some Hyacinthoides non-scripta back in the maple grove. I planted them along the pathway interspersed with some daffodils. I’ve been patiently waiting for them bloom and late last week they finally started blooming. I read about these lovely in A Year at North Hill : Four Seasons in a Vermont Garden and added them to my list of must have plants. Since we have a lot of shade due to the many large trees, I’m always looking for beautiful things to plant among the woodlands.
English Bluebells. Circa 1500s, this fragrant, woodland naturalizer features dark violet-blue, pendant flowers on strong spikes. Commercially grown in the Netherlands as Scilla nutans (synonymous with Scilla non-scripta), this is most closely related to the indigenous English Bluebell, also known as the Wild Hyacinth. (from Van Engelen)
These little beauties should spread and eventually carpet this area of the garden, which I’m especially happy about because nothing grows in this area. Another great benefit is that these are deer resistant, since we have a big problem with deer eating everything in site that makes bluebells all the more attractive.
What’s your biggest issue that you have to keep in mind when choosing garden plants?
