Bluebells are yet to bloom as spring arrives
SPRING may have officially arrived yesterday but while many flowers have been lured into blooming already, Bluebell Woods was still a sea of green on Saturday, with an accompanying lake of mud for those brave enough to walk its paths.
Despite the missing flowers, people were pleased to see recently-erected signs warning visitors to keep off the delicate flowers when they do eventually put in an appearance.
Megan, who declined to give her second name, was walking chocolate Labrador Winter.
‘I’ve always lived close so I come here most weeks,’ she said.
‘I don’t think the signs ruin it. I’ve never seen people in the bluebells, though.’
The main issue was parents taking photos of their children among the flowers, said a man who was out for a walk.
‘They want to Instagram them,’ he said.
Another regular woods walker, Suzette March, said she had previously seen people among the flowers.
‘I think it’s basically people taking photos. I’ve not seen people walking in the middle of them.’
Mrs March said she had also seen a group of people clearing invasive stinking onions, or Allium triquetrum, from one patch of bluebell bulbs in recent weeks.
She expected the woods would be blooming in a few weeks’ time and once they do, ACLMS will be looking to accurately measure the coverage of the flowers over the summer, and monitoring light levels, to help with future management of the plants.
