Common plant names can be romantic, like “kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate” or fanciful, like “yellow archangel”. They can even be menacing, like “wolfsbane” and “bloodroot”. Most often though, common names are descriptive. In the case of “bluebells” this is both helpful and confusing.
I know of at least three plant species that go by “bluebells”. All bloom in spring, multiply rapidly under the right conditions, and bear lovely blue, bell-like flowers. Two are related to each other and the third is a completely different genus. Mertensia virginica, or Virginia bluebell, is a native plant, while Spanish bluebells and English bluebells—Hyacinthoides hispanica and Hyacinthoides non-scripta respectively—are plants that made their way to North American shores in earlier times.
English bluebells, native to England and parts of Western Europe, have long been celebrated in song and story. British people flock to see “bluebell woods” in mid-spring when the plants cover natural areas in carpets of blue. You would never know it to look at them, but English bluebells are part of the Asparagaceae or asperagus plant family. The Latin generic name, “hyacinthoides” tells a better story, because the plants resemble common hyacinths, with long basal leaves giving rise to slender stalks ornamented with bell-shaped flowers. Garden hyacinths are prima donnas, bearing fat spikes of closely clustered flowers that can get so heavy they bend to the ground. English bluebells, by contrast, have a wildflowery look, with dainty, dangling bells. Those bells are sweetly scented, but never overpowering.
Unlike garden hyacinths, that need full sun, English bluebells can flourish in full sun or light shade, hence their ability to colonize those romantic bluebell woods.
Spanish bluebells, not surprisingly, are native to Spain, Portugal and parts of North Africa. Like their English relations, they sprout from bulbs, and bear similar stalks of pendant bells. Those lightly-scented bells are often blue, but might also be white or shades of bluish-pink. In my garden, the latter shade predominates, though blue and white-flowered plants hold their own in various corners. The bees are responsible for the color confusion, as they gravitate to the nectar-laden Spanish bluebells.
Spanish bluebells are extremely prolific, multiplying rapidly. Mine are helped along by the squirrels that populate my neighborhood and excavate bulbs with wild abandon, but even without those four-legged “landscapers”, the Spanish bluebells would proliferate. If you install a few Spanish hyacinth bulbs next fall, you will have a garden full of them within about three years. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and the plants are fairly easy to grub out.
Some people may also know Virginia bluebells as “eastern bluebells”, “Virginia cowslips”, or even “pulmonaria oysterleaf.” Whatever you call it, the plant is glorious in mid spring, standing up to two feet tall, with alternating ovoid leaves that are purple when they first appear, but morph quickly to green or gray-green. The flowers get their vibrant blue color from membership in the large borage family, which is also home to the herb of the same name, as well as various species of pulmonaria or lungwort. Each bloom is comprised of a long tube that opens into a bell shape at the end. The individual flowers are lovely, but they create the greatest floral drama by gathering into showy, pendant clusters at the tops of the stalks.
Unlike Spanish and English bluebells that emigrated to this part of the world, Virginia bluebells are native to the eastern United States and Canada, making them especially congenial to local pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds.
Virginia bluebells prefer semi-shaded sites with consistent moisture. Some sources note that habitat loss and other factors have made the species endangered in at least some parts of its North American range. Therefore, we can each do our bit to increase these native bluebells by growing them.
All three bluebell types—English, Spanish and Virginia–are part of the tribe of “spring ephemeral” plants that sprout, flower, set seed, and fade away before the onset of summer, so they can easily be interplanted with specimens that come along later, like hostas in shady areas or daylilies in sunnier positions. If you plan on doing that, take pictures of the bluebells’ locations, so you don’t inadvertently dig them up later on.
Even with the confusion caused by competing common names, there is nothing confusing about the delights of blue flowers in the spring. Ring in the bluebells!