Bluebells and Red Campion

At last the Bluebells are blooming in our garden. They were already here when we bought our house and spread themselves around as they like. Our house sits on land which is a mix of old farmland and woodland so I’m guessing these plants have grown here a while. The Bluebells are a mix of our native dark blue Bluebells and Spanish Bluebells which have paler blue flowers and pink blooms too. If you’d like to see the difference click the Bluebell on the left. 

This year we have masses of Red Campion too. Silene dioica. The first few are already in flower and there are loads more to come. They are quite lovely and easy to grow from seed. Taller than Bluebells and much deeper pink than our pale pink Bluebells they make a lovely contrast in a sea of blue and green. Red Campion is a perennial wildflower and prefers woodland gardens, orchards, hedgerow bottoms or borders that have the dappled shade of deciduous trees or shrubs. It’s quite adaptable and will also grow well in deep shade and the full sun of open meadows too.

Sow Red Campion seeds in spring or autumn directly where you want them to flower. If you’re trying to attract pollinating insects such as bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths to your garden Red Campion could be a  great option for you. They have lots of pollen and nectar that insects love.

Red Campion is part of the Wildflowers for Butterflies Seed Collection and can also be purchased individually too.

I thought you might also like to see this regular visitor to our garden. Lots of wild ducks visit everyday and some even nest here. This cheeky duck knows we put food for our garden birds on this old table first thing in the morning and at tea time too. He sits here most days. Perhaps he’s guarding the seed for later or maybe he’s just too full to move!

Do you grow Bluebells, Red Campion or some other lovely wildflowers in your garden?

Thanks for reading, liking and commenting. Love Gillian  🙂