Blue!

Hurrah for spring - I always think that no matter your interest in the great outdoors, pretty much everyone in the UK loves bluebells. I mean, you'd be crazy not to right?!

It's always a bit of a tricky balance to catch them at the right time. Now I'm working from home more at the moment, this has meant more quick forays to local haunts, including to track progress of the bluebells. First up was Grovely Wood on the Wilton estate just outside of Salisbury. It's never been up there as my favourite bluebell wood (that would be Garston Wood, but that's a bit further out), but I was surprised to find some good patches. At least, they will be - probably are by now - but when I checked on them, they weren't quite ready.

The next evening, this time based in Winchester, we ventured to Crab Wood, where the bluebells were a magnificent carpet in places. Also wood anemone and primroses spotlit by the changeable sunlight, but not much else going on.

Then this weekend - thinking it was the bluebell peak and visiting a friend in Essex - we requested a visit to the nearest bluebell wood, and were rewarded with a beautiful blue haze. The sweet scent of them was quite powerful in some parts, and what also made the walk great was to see other ancient woodland indicator plants there too - yellow archangel was of particular note. But even the commoner stuff - greater stitchwort - made for a stunning mosaic of blue and white in the dappled light.

I hope to catch Garston Wood this weekend, where the ramsons (wild garlic) should be out as well as the bluebells, and possibly even some early purple orchids to add to the riot of colour.

It's at times like these I simply could not live anywhere else - hurrah for bluebells!