Bluebells are a lovely spring flower that can add color and charm
to your garden beds. Today I am profiling the Spanish Bluebell
and the English Bluebell. You will find these two interchanged
quite a bit online and often are listed as the same plant, but they
are different. English bluebells are much shorter, and bloom
earlier and they both have their own special features.
English Bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, (formerly called
Scilla non-scripta, Scilla nutans, or Endymion non-scriptus)
grows about 12 inches tall and is a hardy bulb with bluish purple
blooms. It has been in European gardens as early as 1500 and is
a wonderful bulb for naturalizing. They do best in full sun or a
little shade and a well-drained fertile soil. 25 bulbs will cover
about a 3 foot square area and will bloom in April and May. They
will have anywhere from 4 to 15 dainty fragrant blooms on each
plant! English bluebell is a beloved flower in Britain, where it
grows in gardens and in the wild. Each summer you can divide
them after the foliage dies back if you wish and replant. This
bulb will tolerate wet areas, which many don't.
Spanish Bluebell, Hyacinthoides hispanica, (also referred to as
Wood Hyacinth) grows to 18 inches, taller than English bluebell
and the flowers are powder blue, pink or white. It blooms later
too, and will grow in sun or shade. If you live in a hot climate,
choose a shady location. They make a nice transitional flower,
after the early spring bulbs, but before the perennials. It's hardy
even for Zone 3, and can be grown in warm climates too. Spanish
bluebell will tolerate drought much better than English bluebells,
which do better in moist areas. Mixing the three color varieties
at the edge of a shady area, where they will still receive sun is a
nice location. They are also lovely in the middle of a border.
There are wildflowers, or weeds some will call them, that do
look similar to the Spanish Bluebells, but these are not the same.
I have one variety in my backyard, which grows near the back of
the fence. I leave it and enjoy the bluebell shape flowers, though
it is a little weedy looking. English and Spanish bluebells will
cross, so be sure if one of them is a favorite to plant only that
variety, or make sure they are a good distance apart.
Both of these bluebell varieties are charming. I think the English
bluebell is more dainty and deeper in color and I love it as an
heirloom plant that still grows wild in Britain and Ireland. It's
very much the "fairy flower".
About the author:
Brenda Hyde is an avid herb gardener,
wife and mom to three living in the midwest United States. She's also editor and
owner of Old Fashioned Living.
BULB & PERENNIAL RESOURCES:
Spring Hill Nursery
Gurney's Nursery
Nature Hills Nursery
Pacific Callas
Bloomingbulb
DirectGardening 
Jackson & Perkins
Dutch Gardens
