John,
Personally, I would love to see you post a photo of an "English Bluebell wood".
Sounds like it would be as beautiful as a field of "Texas Bluebonnets".
Cheers,
Patty Allen
Humble, Texas USA
-----Original Message-----
>From: John Grimshaw <j.grimshaw@virgin.net>
>Sent: May 8, 2008 2:28 AM
>To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
>Subject: Re: [pbs] Spanish bluebells
>
>'Spanish bluebell' is a dirty 'word' here in the UK, where Hyacinthoides
>hispanicus is highly successful and hybridises with the native H.
>non-scriptus to form H. x massartiana. This is perceived by conservationists
>as being a threat to our native species and the issue has received a huge
>amount of media coverage and has sunk into public's perception, probably
>because of its inherent xenophobia ("Bloody foreigners coming over 'ere and
>pollinating our bluebells..."). It is extraordinary how often visitors to
>the garden here will say, on hearing that bluebells succeed the snowdrops,
>'I hope you don't have any Spanish ones', even though they would probably
>not be able to tell the difference. Of course we do - no 19th C garden would
>not have, and a multicoloured array of hybrids too - but we also have masses
>of unadulterated natives, and on the Colesbourne estate are woods currently
>blue by the acre with them. (If you have never seen an English bluebell wood
>it is one of the botanical sights of the world).
>
>Personally, I think the issue is grossly overexaggerated - no doubt there
>are areas where hybrids outnumber natives, especially in urban areas, but it
>seems highly improbable that the dreaded hybrids are going to take over
>every wood in the country. There are plenty of further scare stories though:
>global warming will cause the bluebells to die out because the leaves come
>on the trees earlier & thus shade out the bluebells (perhaps the bluebells
>may come into growth earlier?) and wicked commercial bulb dealers will strip
>every wood in the country for gardeners to plant natives. This 'threat' was
>specifically legislated against in 1998, despite the fact that there must be
>thousands of acres of woods that could be harvested sustainably.
>
>From a horticultural viewpoint, though, I can't imagine why anyone would
>risk their garden by deliberately planting H. hispanicus - it really is an
>ineradicable thug.
>
>John Grimshaw
>
>
>Dr John M. Grimshaw
>Sycamore Cottage
>Colesbourne
>Nr Cheltenham
>Gloucestershire GL53 9NP
>
>Tel. 01242 870567
>
>
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