What's Blooming Now--TOW
Diane Whitehead (Tue, 27 Apr 2004 14:32:31 PDT)

The lavender ones are much favoured by Swallowtail butterflies, which
then lay their eggs on nearby fennel. I will check and see if the
butterflies also like the pale flowers.

A couple of good things about bluebells:

1. Childhood memories: They were the first flowers all the
neighbourhood kids used to pick, in a nearby wooded area, next to the
field with a horse in it. ( apartment buildings replaced the horse
about fifty years ago, alas.) I try to keep them under control in my
garden, and never let them set seed, but I still like them for
picking as they will fill in a bouquet when I only want to sacrifice
one or two tulips.

2. Deer like to browse the copious juicy green leaves, so if they
fill up on bluebells, they will surely have less room for trilliums
and tulips.

--
Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8
cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually)
sandy soil